Shades of Night I
by DJ-SlashMusika21
Summary: Damien Angels, a simple guy with supernatural powers that would make him a god, only if he was able to control them. With G.U.N and his brother Darius on his tail, can Damien learn to tame the monster inside of him and escape the forces who hunt him down?
1. Night Rampage

Chapter One: Night Rampage

The night was calm and peaceful, the moon's light illuminating the already glowing Central City. This was the capital city on Mobius and the white house was not that far from it. Cars were bustling along the streets and the citizens were enjoying a night in the town, expressions of joy and happiness filling their faces.

In a nearby park, screeching screams were heard, people running in fear as adrenaline pumped their veins like vaccine. A group of hawk gangsters were stealing people's valuables, Magnum Revolvers and Desert Eagles in their arsenal. Walking forward to a random citizen, a blue hawk grabbed a small boy by his shoulder.

"Hey, give me your money kid!" the tone in his voice signaling a command.

The boy he was referring to was a golden dog with dirty blonde chest fur, the shape resembling a heart. He had messy hair on the top of his head and a giant bang in the shape of a boomerang. On his back was the tattoo of a cross. He wore black shorts and a pair of black sneakers, on the outline read 'Air Force' in white lettering. Around his neck was a black bandanna and the final touch was a pair of black sunglasses. The boy peered over his shoulder to look at the hawk.

"Why is your hand on my shoulder? I hope you know who I am." the dog spat.

"Kid, you're in for a world of hurt now." the hawk reeled his fist back, swinging madly only for the boy to block.

"Well I wouldn't say that we met on the best circumstances but well, let's just get this over with right now. Sorry if I send you guys to the hospital. But you should know the name of your opponent. Name's Damien Angels, nice to meet ya!" Damien smirked, back flipping to gain some sort of distance.

The blue hawk wasn't going to be outsmarted or mocked by a little kid, his feet swiftly taking him forwards. Another attempt at a punch, the hawk's fist shot forward but Damien jumped over him, smashing his opponent in the back with a quick roundhouse kick. In one swift motion, the hawk pulled out his Desert Eagle, two bullets zooming towards Damien but the dog was quick on his feet, barrel-rolling out of danger.

The only shielding that the hound had now was a tree but that wouldn't last long at this rate, bullets cracking into the wooden frame. A green hawk and a black hawk began to go around the tree, Damien already climbing up the tree with his sharp claws. The hawks began to do the same, guns in hand as Damien has predicted. With only a few feet of distance between him, the hawks and the ground, his plan would probably work.

_For the love of God, please let this work._, Damien thought as he jumped downwards. The hawks smirked at his stupid action but it was part of his plan. Swiftly snatching the guns from their hands, Damien shot two rounds into each hawk, blood leaking out from their wounds, their bodies hitting the floor with a thud. Instinct came into play as the Angel ducked to dodge a bullet before dashing away, blades of grass and pieces of gravel kicking up.

"There he is, get that little hound now." a red hawk screamed obviously being the leader.

The blue and red hawks gave chase, other members following closely. Coming across a bridge, Damien stopped mid-way and jumped downwards, the ground not very far from his feet. Pushing through some citizens, he found himself in front of the blue hawk, his smile ever so venomous. The hound hero quickly turned around, the chase still on. Ahead of him was a gray hawk, arms outstretched to grab hold of him but Damien slid under his legs.

"See ya later, hawk eye." Damien mocked as his feet carried him forwards from the danger but he didn't expect to meet the red hawk once again.

Unleashing a barrage of bullets, the hawk aimed at Damien who's only option was to keep running. The bullets missed their mark, bits of rock and gravel flying upwards as the hound outran the bullets. It was almost too easy for the dog until the blue hawk came from out of nowhere again, tackling the young one to the ground. Back to the floor and the hawk holding him down, Damien used his legs to counter the hold, the blue hawk flying over.

Using the bit of momentum he had gained, Damien ran to the gray hawk once again before kicking upwards, Damien's body leaving the ground completely as he walked on the hawk's torso and face. Ending off the combo, Damien flew overhead, grasping his opponent by his temple. With all his might, Damien threw the gangster over, his body impacting with a tree, sickening cracks echoing meaning that some bones had broke.

_Okay, that takes care of the bunch, now where's the head honcho of this taco stand?_

"DIE!!!" Bullets rained down from above as the red hawk loomed over the young one, Damien unable to dodge in time. Each bullet that hit dug into his flesh, blood splurging out like a thunderstorm, the grass now a crimson color. The hound fell down to his knees and one last shot rang out, thus ending Damien for good.

"Good riddance, now I can--" The red hawk's words trailed off as Damien's body began to rise from the ground, almost like he was going to Heaven through a beacon of light but that wasn't the case.

All of a sudden, a black and purple aura began to shroud the hound, his body being enveloped by the black blanket. The hawk gangster couldn't help but tremble in fear, although he didn't have any idea what was going on. The purple hue began to shine ever so brightly, the moon just catching the fear of the moment so perfectly. With a small thud, Damien fell back to the floor but he looked completely different than he had been before.

"What the hell are you?!" the red one exclaimed, falling to the floor in fear of his fate.

Damien was now a black wolf like creature with purple replacing his dirty blonde fur. His hair was still messy but with purple highlights. His claws had increased in size, a purple hue to them. Damien's fangs had become whiter and more sharp than a knife. The tattoo on his back has suddenly become white and his eyes were a dark violet.

Nothing else had changed, well except his personality as well. Taking one huge step forward, Damien let out an unnatural roar, the red hawk's feathers blowing backwards from the extreme force. Once the roar died out, the new Damien muttered one word...

"Nightshade..."

"What the hell's a Nightshade?" the red hawk would never get an answer as the so-called Nightshade plunged his whole claw into his stomach, guts and blood spurting out so gruesomely.

The wolf licked the blood off his claws as if it were a hot chocolate fudge sundae. The red hawk's body sitting off at the side, just leaning on a tree with his broken boned comrade who doubtfully would fight or steal another day. A shot rang out, Nightshade turning to see five G.U.N soldiers with minor 9 millimeter pistols in their hands.

"Drop any weapons and put your hands up...whatever you are, you thing." one G.U.N soldier commanded as Nightshade smirked devilishly.

"Yes, more blood to drink! Give me your blood!!!" Nightshade charged towards them, each step he took made the soldiers tremble, their knees going weak from just the presence of this monster.

One soldier began to shoot rapidly at the wolf, not one shot affected the beast whatsoever. He yawned to digress his boredom before grinning. Dashing forward at high speeds, Nightshade slashed one of the soldiers' chest, a large gash appearing where he hit and the soldier instantly died. Another soldier came, using his gun to try and choke the monster but the black hound flipped him over immediately, smashing his foot into the soldier's face, instantly crushing his skull.

Two more came at him but this monster was just too prepared for anything. Putting his hands together, the black beast ejected an array of black and purple flames that burnt through the soldiers' bulletproof armor, their faces showing an expression of shock and agony.

"And then there was one...time to die." Nightshade grinned with joy as his feast was upon him, his fangs already drenched in crimson and just begging for more.

The captain, the one who was remaining, wasn't going to die without a fight, he shot three rounds at Nightshade's knee, the beast temporarily in pain as he licked the blood coming from his knee. This allowed the captain to bash him over the head with a giant tree branch only to his amazement not only did the branch snap on contact but his knee wound was completely gone also.

What more tricks could the monster still have in store? Nightshade would answer that question as he dashed over to the captain, jumping over him for what seemed to be no reason until he wrapped his tree trunk arms around him. Jumping upwards, the beast tilted his body to make the duo upside down.

Letting gravity take over from that point, the duo crashed into the ground, a crater forming in their wake, Nightshade escaping the move without any recoil damage. To finish off his prey, the black beast stabbed his claw into the human's back, taking it out to lick the blood that he so rightfully earned.

_My senses and powers are increasing with the more blood I drink?...or do I just naturally know all of this? I've never even been in this form ever. I knew I had strange powers but this just tops it off._

All of a sudden, a group of helicopters, tanks and standard G.U.N sentry drones made their way to the scene, Nightshade still unaware of their presence until one spoke.

"Stand down monster or we'll have to use brute force which I doubt you'd like to see us do." a soldier demanded from high above the park but this wasn't going to go as they had planned.

"Try me!" The reply of Nightshade's was most certainly threatening and stupid so they did what any other person in their position would do.

"FIRE!!!" Three missiles were fired, their target not trying to do anything to dodge or block the attack. The missiles struck, smoke scattering through the area as the soldiers awaited their fate. When all was said and done, Nightshade wasn't there anymore so the soldiers began to cheer and celebrate.

That was until Nightshade had become clear in their vision, the beast jumping towards a tank. Once the hound landed on the tank, he smashed his fist directly into the cannon, the end result being the tank's demise. The explosion was a mix of red and orange like a sunset, a deadly one anyway.

The two helicopters and two tanks began to retreat leaving the sentry drones on their own. The wolf ended them quickly with a swift onslaught of Nightshade Claws, scraps of metal taking their place. Intent on killing the group, Nightshade chased after them, easily catching up with the two tanks.

"Here's Johnny!!" Nightshade screamed, automatically grabbing the first tank he saw.

Spinning around in place for what seemed to be at least thirty seconds, the hound threw the massive vehicle at one of the helicopters, hitting the rotor as the flying machine crashed into a building, bricks that were moved in the crash hitting citizens on the ground.

"At least make this a challenge guys!!"

Grabbing the next tank, the hound opened the latch on the tank and took out the two soldiers inside before slicing them into individual body parts. But there was the problem with the final helicopter which was making its way out of the city. The hound had thought of a risky but effective idea.

Raising the cannon attached to the tank, Nightshade took a few steps back before dashing forward at top speed. Using the cannon as a small boost, Nightshade jumped upwards towards the helicopter with his final idea coming into play. In his hand was a ball of condensed dark chaos energy, the sphere a black and purple color.

_Time to die!!!_, it screamed through the monster's mind like a tape recorder. Shooting his arm forward, the ball of energy made contact with the flying vehicle directly.

"Dark…Repulsion!!!" the ball then erupting into a dome of violet energy spreading about 40 meters in the surrounding area as citizens looked on to see the sight before their very eyes.

In a few seconds after contact, the dome dispersed and Nightshade was in the air, unconscious. His body returned into the regular Damien while flying downwards to his death. The only thing that was between Damien and death now was the space between him and the ground of course.

_Nightshade..._

_To be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: Wasn't this an awesome first chapter? Damien's already getting into trouble and he just laid waste to everyone who opposed him. Hopefully you guys like reading it as much as I loved writing it. Thanks guys and have a nice New Years!**


	2. Brotherly Brawl

Chapter Two: Brotherly Brawl

Dusty Desert, a dry piece of land just outside of Soleanna with absolutely nothing but sand, cactus and buried or partially buried ruins. Usually sandstorms would brew in the howling and desolate landmark but not today, just whispers of wind breezed by.

Groaning on the flat but rough surface he laid on, Damien shook his head, his sunglasses off to the side of him. His whole body was aching but it wasn't anything that a good stretch couldn't take care of. Putting on his sunglasses, Damien began to search the surrounding areas to find a hooded figure standing a few feet away from him.

_Now I wonder two things. How did I get here and who the hell is that dude standing there?_

"Hey you!" Damien exclaimed, the figure catching his call and diverting his attention to the golden hound.

"Yeah you, who are you and how did I get here? I was in Central City last night and then I got shot and... then I blacked out for a second." Damien trailed off from there as the figure met his eyes for the very first time.

"You...were falling from the sky and I had just happened to catch you in the nick of time...as for who I am, you should already know." the hooded figure said, crimson pools meeting pitch black ones.

"Um, sorry but I have no idea who the hell you are but nice try though. Falling from the sky? How could I have reached the sky? Oh my god, I remember now. I was getting jumped by these gangsters and then they shot me and next thing ya know...I turn into this freaking monster that--"

"That what kid?"

"Killed everyone viciously...you gotta help me man." Damien grabbed the figure by the collar, shaking him uncontrollably to emphasize the point he was trying to make. The figure brushed the wrinkles off his hood before smirking a very sinister grin.

"

Oh, I'll help ya kid...by killing the monster who caused all this." the figure took two broadswords out of nowhere, one of black color and the other of white. The figure kicked Damien down to the floor, his swords prepared to strike at any moment. Damien backed up, his face showing shock and anger.

"Tell me who the hell you are now!!"

"Come on, I guess I might as well show you the face of your executioner." the figure concluded as he took off his hood completely, revealing his true identity.

It was a gray dog with crimson eyes, his hair combed forwards but still a bit messy. He had two bangs, each one slightly covering one of his eyes. The male had black chest fur going upwards in the shape of an arrow and a muzzle that showed he didn't have very good personal hygiene. Black stripes ran along his arms also in the shape of an arrow. As for attire, the dog wore gray sneakers, black pants with a light gray shading to them and two spiked bracelet around his wrists. All Damien's expression could show was pure shock.

"D-D-D-DARIUS?!!!"

"In the flesh...my younger brother. How have you been? It's been a long time since you ran away and I've missed you oh so much. The house got lonely without your screams of agony and my sick laughter filling the air inside of it." Darius commented as he dragged his swords along the stony floor, little sparks flying from the tips.

"Well I guess that only makes one of us Darius...I'm going to kill you for what you did to me! I'll make sure you pay with your life, do you hear me Darius?!" Damien asked, his figure arising from the floor for the first time since Darius put him there.

"Aw, my brother, it was all in good sport and besides...it made you stronger, physically and mentally now didn't it?"

"But it broke me down emotionally, I loved you Darius. You were my brother and you did...you made me strong all right and now...I shall kill you and send you to Hell where you belong." Damien screamed making sure Darius knew the agony he had been through but it obviously wasn't working, Darius's face showing disgust.

"Oh you make me sick little one, I shouldn't even call you my brother. I'm still mad that you got it all but now I'll change that and finally prove them wrong...I'll prove them WRONG!!!" Stabbing his swords into a nearby cactus, the swords began to sap the energy inside of the plant. Once he finished doing that, the cactus never changed but the hound's swords began to radiate with energy

"What the hell did you just do?" Damien asked, his tone rising with each moment he talked with his older brother while Darius just chuckled evilly.

"I sapped the positive and negative energies inside of the cactus thus powering my swords. You see, I first take some positive energy thus killing the plant but once I take the negative energy out, it's like it never died. It's like a balance you see? Now are we going to fight or talk?"

Damien smirked going on the attack first, swinging a fist at his brother, the hound jumping away in time. Quickly rebounding off of a slanted pillar, Darius tried a roundhouse kick at his younger brother who rolled out of the way as expected.

Darius used this opportunity to dash at Damien and unleash a slash with his white sword at his brother, the sword hitting its mark. As quickly as the slash came, another one hit, this time the black sword and then both hit him, making a reaction that sent Damien flying backwards a few feet. The golden hound growled in pain, somehow the sword's reaction was way more powerful than the dog expected.

"Okay, now that's gonna hurt in the morning." the dog moaned.

"You see, that was my Posinegi Combo. My swords make that reaction because a positive can't combine with a negative thus resulting with a giant attack. It's like the north and south poles of a magnet. North goes with north, south goes with south. But if you try connecting north with south, what happens? They retract I guess you can say. This is why you won't be able to defeat me." Darius explained but Damien wasn't going to be discouraged by his words.

Damien charged once again, prepared with a Nightshade Claw. This feat didn't impress his brother much to his dismay, the gray hound lazily observing Damien's maneuver. The golden hound swiped at his head which Darius backed up to dodge, his bangs swooshing in the wind of the attack and Damien's face in shock once again.

With Damien's attention on his failure attack, Darius threw his swords up into the air, jumping up to catch them. The Angel didn't know what was to come until Darius began to free fall to the floor. Before he reached the floor, the gray dog smashed his white broadsword into the ground, the black one after, to create a ripping shockwave of gray heading towards his brother. Damien quickly hopped out of the way, beginning to run away from the battle.

"Don't run brother, fight me like a true warrior instead of cowering in fear." Darius demanded but it was all a trap for him.

He gave chase to his brother who was heading for one of the pillars in the desert. The golden dog had a grip firm on it and spun around 180 degrees, flying towards Darius who didn't have the time to block. With a sickening crack, Darius' jaw completely flew out of place but that wasn't the end of Damien's combo.

Kicking the dog upwards, Damien began to step on his torso like his brother was a flight of stairs. Clasping his hands into a hammer like shape, he smacked Darius in the chin and then on the temple, Darius crashing into the floor and his brother falling with him.

To end off his little feat, Damien began to spin in air, leg extended. At the moment of impact, Damien landed a gut wrenching kick into Darius' rib cage, crimson liquid shooting from his mouth. The golden one flipped backwards immediately after contact, breathing with ragged breaths and wiping a brow of sweat from his forehead.

"That's what I call my Angelic Combo...a bit of kicking and punching did you good now didn't it?" Damien mocked, spiting out bits of sand that had entered his mouth.

Some noise had come from the mini crater that Darius had formed so Damien slowly made his way towards it. His brother had survived the attack but that wasn't too much of a surprise to him.

_There's no way he's got enough strength to kill me now, I got him on the ropes and he knows it too._

"I liked that move, I could use it sometime when I fight someone else but you're gonna get whooped twice as bad now." Darius then did something unbelievably disgusting, he grabbed his jaw and swiftly shifted it back into place, loud cracking noises coming from his mouth. "Ah, much better now."

"You truly are a monster!!" Damien exclaimed, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes bulging from the shocking thing his brother had done.

"I'll make sure to let my master know that you were taken care of once and for all." Darius screamed as he stabbed his brother in his shoulder blade, an agonizing scream escaping his brother's mouth and blood pouring from the giant wound, his fur stained with the red liquid.

Darius quickly took the sword out as he thought that he would end the battle in a knock-out or Damien dying from the blood loss. All of a sudden, Damien's body was being cloaked by the black and purple aura that he summoned the night before to take care of the G.U.N soldiers and gangsters. Darius was puzzled at this action so he decided to pay attention to his brother's state. When the aura faded, all that stood there was the same black and purple wolf who had rampaged through Central City.

_Nightshade..._

"You have so many tricks up your sleeve brother but it won't stop me from killing you like I said I would. I hope that you take your last few breaths and enjoy them because I'm not going to just let you get out of this alive." Darius stated raising his sword once again at Nightshade.

"I'm going to show you why Nightshade is the better half of the group." the black and purple wolf said, his claw once again being shadowed over with a purple aura.

"Not this same trick again, didn't I dodge it before?" Darius asked but received no answer as Nightshade had vanished from his sight. Where had he gone to now?

_He knows teleportation, what a weak being he is to resort to fancy tricks._

"Behind you..."

Darius turned to find no one behind, his eyes looking down to see a giant shadow looming over head. Nightshade slashed at Darius with the Nightshade Claw, the sharp purple attack slicing through the hound's flesh like a butter knife as a large gash appeared on his chest.

Surprise wasn't one thing that Darius showed a lot but he was surely showing it now. The black beast unleashed a spinning kick, Darius trying to block with his blades but the force was too strong, his grip of the swords loosening until Nightshade smashed his foot in his face.

Blood began to leak from his nose but it was minor compared to the gash he had recently gotten. Grabbing the hound by the arm, the demented Damien began to rotate on the spot before flinging his brother into a pillar, the architecture easily breaking from old age.

Nightshade easily came from behind the mid-air hound, wrapping his hands around the dog's leg. He began to spin him again, throwing him diagonally downwards into two more pillars before Darius finally ended up in the ground, rocks littering him like a temporary tomb.

"I'm going to end this right now brother...with this." Nightshade motioned to his brother another Nightshade Claw. "This is going right through your heart and I'll be happy to drink your blood too."

Dashing forward, Nightshade shot his Nightshade Claw forwards to a slowly recovering Darius and it seemed like it was all over for the gray hound but suddenly the claw dissipated in thin air. Nightshade was in utter shock as he tried to summon another Nightshade Claw but to no avail.

Darius was going to take this opportunity wisely. Stabbing his swords into the ground in the shape of a cross, Darius released all of the positive and negative energy inside his blades, the result being a giant blast of gray that spread 80 meters in each direction. Nightshade was overtaken in the blast having no time to dodge. When it ended, Darius stood over the black and purple hound in victory with swords in hand, the blades lost their shiny luster after the attack.

"I win brother...if you survived that attack then I'll come back for you and make sure you die painfully. Farewell...Nightshade or should I say Damien." Darius began to walk away, Nightshade's violet eyes scanning the scene before him as his brother walked away.

He blinked once, this time his brother wasn't in sight at all before darkness overtook his vision.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: Now that was an awesome battle right there now don't ya think? Darius was an OC I planned to use in my old series but he even fits better in this one. People have been asking me why I scrapped the old series. It's because there were a few plot holes that I couldn't fill so I decided to start fresh with this series which I've already planned most of. So anyway, please review so I can hear some honest feedback guys, it'll help me a lot as a writer. Thanks guys and have a Happy New Years!!! **


	3. The Redclaw Tribe

Chapter Three: The Redclaw Tribe

_A dense fog shrouded the area, black was all that could be seen for miles even with the golden hound's keen eyesight. His sense of smell was knocked out due to the fog but he still needed to know where he was. Damien awoke, alone and somewhat scared of where he was, why he was here and who may have been here with him. _

_For some reason, it was so hot but with fog, shouldn't it have been humid? Damien couldn't tell truthfully, he wasn't the brightest kid in the class...probably the whole school. But he could make up for it with his fists. Arising from his previous state, Damien began to walk through the fog gazing around for any sign of life at all but his efforts were coming out slim after all. _

_He tipped his sunglasses up and squinted, hopefully having the chance at finding someone but nothing. The golden dog banged his fists against the cold and barren floor, screaming angrily, his echoes filling the area with his pain and frustration._

"_WHERE AM I?!!" Damien bellowed, his question obviously not receiving any sort of answer. Grabbing his sunglasses, he threw them on the floor harshly before stepping on them. Once he did that, a new pair just reappeared on his face, Damien growling of confusion. _

_All of a sudden, a shadowy figure began to walk through the fog coming towards Damien. The dog raised his fists up, being ready to fight any body that was in his way to getting out of here. The figure's identity finally revealed as the fog evaporated, the Angel in shock for at least the fourth time in the past few days. It was him, a mirror image or copy of himself, this had to be some sort of trick or magic._

"_Hey buddy, how are you doing?" the copy asked._

"_Okay, do you know how many things are being asked in my head right now?" the copy shook his head. _

_"Of course you don't. Who are you? Why do you look like me? Where am I? Why am I here?!!" Damien asked, his questions irritating his visitor._

"_Do you know that you can be really annoying at times? Anyway, I'm you as it can be seen from the way I look. I look like you because I am you. You're in your conscious or you can call it a dream. As for why you're here, you should know that of all people. Let's get you better acquainted with your other side...meet Nightshade!" the Damien look alike began to change in form. His fur changed color along with his eyes and his claws. Damien backed away from the transformed being, Nightshade now standing before him._

"_Now do you see what you truly are?!" Nightshade asked, his tone more like a scream._

"_NO!!! There's no way in Hell that you're me, I know I've been hearing the Nightshade a bit lately but there's no way I'm Nightshade. I don't what kind of lies you're trying to feed me but it won't work. I hope you can see that." Damien explained but the black and purple wolf wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily._

"_Not going to happen. I will show you who you are whether you choose to believe me or not...you are Nightshade!!!" The black beast grabbed Damien, the weaker dog trying to escape the hold but it was useless. _

_The Angel looked into Nightshade's eyes and all of a sudden, glimpses of recent events began to flood his mind. There was the fight with Darius and the rampage of Central City, the final one securing the truth. It showed Damien actually transforming into the being he didn't think he would ever believe was true...he was Nightshade._

"_This is who you are...and what you shall become...doesn't it feel great to have all this power and no one to command you on how to use it?" Nightshade asked, Damien's growl becoming more fierce than expected._

"_NO!!! I will not become you...ever!! You are a piece of trash to me and I'll kill you. That'll probably get rid of this curse that you've put upon me. I hope that you have a nice time in hell you monster." Damien exclaimed, trying to kick at the wolf but Nightshade laughed at his feeble attempts. _

_He dropped the real one and began to walk away much to Damien's dismay._

"_Where are you going?! You come back here you little punk! Fight me like a real...monster...um man would!!! I'm going to kill you for this and make you pay dearly!!!"_

"_HA! Like I haven't heard that one before little one but you're not ready yet. If we were to fight here and now...I would squash you like the annoying bug you truly are. In time, you'll become stronger and we shall have our true battle but until then...you shall wait but don't worry, I'm going to become stronger as well." Nightshade said, his finger slowly tapping against his chin as if he were in thought, "Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you tell your brother Darius that you HAD turned into a monster?"_

"_Uh, I was confused at the time. I didn't know what to believe honestly but now I see the truth and I won't let it affect my future." Damien proclaimed but Nightshade just chuckled._

"_Such bravado...for one of the most biggest idiots I've ever seen. Well I must be off. Goodbye Damien." Nightshade walked off into the dense fog, a bright light overtaking Damien's vision._

* * *

The hound woke up, still in the wasteland of Dusty Desert, sweat running down his forehead like a waterfall. He swiped the back of his hand along his face to wipe some of the perspiration off but almost screamed at the sight. His hand was still black and purple meaning he was still in his Nightshade form. Quickly getting up from the ground, the hound began to scan his whole body and unfortunately, he was still the monster that was in his dream but how?

_The fight against Darius shouldn't have kept me in this form. Holy crap, I need to get out of this and do something about that gray thorn in my side. I'm going to find that creep and make him pay...once I get myself out of this little costume...God, wonder how Sonic felt in his were-hedgehog form thing._

Nightshade picked up his sunglasses which were slightly broken but he could easily fix them once he reached a town of some sort. Then there was the fact that he was a wanted criminal for bringing about a fourth of Central City, resisting arrest and many other felonies.

As he made his way across the desert, the black and purple hound noticed something not too deep in the sand. Using his giant purple claws, he began to dig through the barriers that held his prize. Nightshade found a small pole like object made of steel so he grabbed it.

With all of his might, the dog pulled out the pole and found it to be a sign, one that told how many miles left to arrive at a certain place. It read "Soleanna, 30 Miles Away" much to the dog's dismay. This angered the dog very much as sand began to rotate around his body like a mini sandstorm.

"WHY AM I SO UNLUCKY?!! WHY WAS I THE ONE TO GAIN THIS CURSE?!! IT'S NOT A BLESSING TO HAVE THIS...THIS POWER!!! WHY DID I BECOME NIGHTSHADE??!!!" a faint red aura began to surround the monster's body, the sand around him somehow entranced by the hound's astounding power.

All of a sudden, the sand actually attached the hound's body like it was a sort or armor before Nightshade let out an unnatural roar, the sand rocketing upwards into the form of a giant sand tornado. The sand tornado was visible from miles away, the height of it almost matching the length of the Egg Carrier and the width of it almost the size of a small town. A small group of warriors wearing black cloaks saw the tornado, they were not too far from where it was coming from. The leader who was wearing a different colored cloak, a tan one to be exact, stepped forward and looked closely inside to see a figure inside.

"Men, we're heading over to that tornado. There's someone in there and may need our help." the leader exclaimed, the voice obviously showing it was a female.

The group ran towards the "funnel of sand" in which Nightshade was trapping himself inside but suddenly the tornado dissipated and Nightshade was once again revealed but he looked different from what he previously looked like.

His claws were no longer violet but a stunning red violet and his black hair was replaced with a dark scarlet. Nightshade's cross tattoo changed color once again, this time it was a crimson color. The final touch was the once deep violet eyes Nightshade once has became y pools of red. The leader of the group stepped forward to meet the monster face to face.

"What the hell is that thing?" one of her men cried.

"It's some sort of monster!!" another exclaimed.

"I'm not fighting or touching that thing!!!" many others cried and wailed as their leader became a bit too aggravated at them.

"SHUT UP!!! I'm trying to help the...thing." The leader looked into the crimson eyes of the transformed Nightshade. "Hello um...I don't know your name but I'll call you Dog for now. Look Dog, I'm here to help you and I don't wanna hurt you. Just stay still and I'll calm you down." the leader pressed the palm of her hand against Nightshade's forehead and all of a sudden, the hound began to transform.

His red violet claws becoming black again, his tattoo also black. His eyes were covered with his old black contacts and his fur was golden with specks of dirty . Damien has once again returned as the warriors gasped in shock while the cocky hero rubbed his head.

"Oh my aching head, it feels like I got hit by three trucks and then hit by a G.U.N armored vehicle..." Damien noticed the leader and her group finally, scratching the back of his head, "Um, who are you?"

"We are the Redclaw Tribe, a tribe who lives here in the Dusty Desert and thrives off the thrill of defeating our rival tribe, the Blackheart Tribe. I am their leader, Lia the Jackal." the leader took off her entire cloak to reveal her appearance.

Lia was a black jackal with white stripes running along her back and forearms. The jackal had two red stripes, one above each of her amber eyes. On her forehead was a red diamond, symbolizing some sort of birthmark. As for what she wore, she had a short sleeveless green shirt, a pair of red and gray sneakers, tattered gray pants and a red bandanna wrapped around her left shoulder. Damien smirked a cocky grin at Lia, the hound putting his sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the sand.

"Well Lia, I have to get going now. I have somewhere to...aw damn it!! I'm a wanted criminal. God I should have thought about that...now what?" Damien trailed off as Lia placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So you need a place to stay? You're welcome to stay with us for a while." Lia offered, her tribe mates shocked at her actions. Usually she would snap at strangers but she somehow felt comfortable with a guy who was previously have a little rampage in the middle of the desert.

"Um I guess I'll take you up on your offer Lia. The name's Damien...Damien Angels." Damien replied as he began to walk through the other members of the group. Lia and her Redclaw Tribe began to follow, Lia's mind processing thoughts like a computer.

_I don't know why but this Damien character reminds me somewhat of Maki...and he's pretty...oh what am I saying? I'm not going to get attracted to this guy. But...let's just get home and I'll think about this later. _

"Damien! Wait up!" Lia cried as her group began to chase after the dog who was far ahead of them. Maybe this wasn't so bad for Damien but yet, he knew the battles ahead were just going to get more challenging.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: Well another chapter in my belt now! Yeah, I'm so happy and I hoped you guys liked this new form of Nightshade. He's going to be even more awesome than you guys had originally thought. I would like to thank Babylon Sky Hawk for giving me this awesome OC, Lia, as a gift for Christmas. You're awesome man! Hopefully, you'll tune in for the next chapter. Please review!! I need feedback guys to make me a better writer. Thanks!**


	4. Redclaw Respect

Chapter Four: Redclaw Respect

Coal colored eyes fluttered open, dawn breaking their state of mind. The Angel had awaken and began to stretch his limbs, popping noises echoing through the hut he slept in. The hound scanned throughout to find his signature sunglasses perched on a nearby desk.

Grabbing them, he walked out the hut and began to take in the fresh air and scenery...Though all he could see was more huts and a large amount of sand for miles. Damien wasn't one for horrible scenery but it was whatever for him at the moment. He saw the black jackal leader, Lia walking with a young wolf before the wolf departed from her side. Seeing this as an opportunity to talk to her, he ran up to her side before extending his hand.

"Well good morning Lia, I must say that you look absolutely stunning today." Damien stated, the jackal turning her attention to the golden dog and she took his hand, shaking it.

"It seems to me that you had a good night's sleep Damien...even though I know you're sucking up to me right to get some 'sugar'," Lia using the word sugar lightly, "it's not going to work because I'm not interested."

"Sorry girl but I can't help but stare and comment about how beautiful you are." his whole gaze just on Lia's figure.

"Sorry Mr. Angels but I can't help but ignore your compliments." Lia said, her amber eyes not looking at the golden hound.

Damien and Lia continued to walk forward until the golden dog got an idea which rarely ever happens when it comes to him. A smirk plastered upon his lips which confused the female while Damien knew exactly how to win.

_T__his is more easy than the regents tests I used to take...god, those were hard! I had to drop out of school because of those things...and the brother Darius being a pain in the side. Well, I'll just propose a bet to this girl and I'll do something that I know she'll lose at if we do go at it._

"Hey Lia, how about I propose a bet to ya?" Damien asked gaining the jackal's attention once again.

"Well it seems that you've caught my attention you impudent fool, what kind of bet do you propose?" Lia asked, Damien's smirk just growing wider.

"I challenge you to a fight, one on one and if I win, I get a kiss from you lovely." Damien proposed but Lia put a finger on his lips.

"But if I win...I'll just tell you after I win because I know I'll win this." Lia stated, Damien's cocky grin appearing.

"We'll see about that girl." Damien stated as the two went into the middle of the desert where the golden hound fought his older brother. The ruins still remained even after Damien's little incident with his powers. Lia snapped her neck and got ready to fight with the Angel.

"Hope you're ready to lose." Damien said.

"Sorry but losing isn't an option when it comes to you Damien." Lia replied, the two cracking their knuckles.

Damien charged forward, the sand kicking up at his feet, the golden dog enveloping his claw with black and purple energy. The black jackal sighed, the golden hound swiping while Lia back flipped to dodge the attack. Already predicting this, Damien jumped upwards, slamming his foot into the female's temple. Lia softly landed on her feet, shooting forward at the descending Damien.

Using a pillar, she ricocheted to gain some sort of momentum, right above the golden hound. The Angel smirked, his claws once again shrouded by the black and purple energy. Once Lia got near him, Damien slashed upwards, each slash causing serious damage. Lia fell down to the floor but she wasn't going to be defeated that easily.

The black jackal dashed at her opponent suddenly looking like a black bullet of energy. She jumped, the momentum aiding her to lash out a powerful kick, Damien using his forearm to block the attack. Slightly surprised, the dog used this temporary distraction to lash out an upwards kick that sent the jackal flying upwards.

Another combo was going to be created, Damien jumping upwards and jabbing his knee into her back. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Damien was hurdling towards the ground, the Primary Lotus connecting as Lia groaned in again and Damien taking recoil damage but the combo wasn't done yet. Damien's hand was still grasping the female's leg, spinning in place and he sent the Redclaw Tribe leader flying into the sand.

"I'm going to call that my Angel Lotus Throw. Nice name to me." Damien commented.

Lia spat out a small amount of the ground like substance before rolling to dodge a purple stab of Damien's Nightshade Claw. The dog tried to take out his claw, unable to free it before Lia smashed her fist into his fist, Damien rolling along the floor.

Quickly getting back to his feet, the Angel sprayed purple and black flames from his hands, the flames shooting forward like a group of snakes slithering towards their prey. The jackal sidestepped the attack, her feet carrying her forward towards Damien.

Rolling into a ball, Lia propelled herself forward until the point where she was at least 2 feet away from the dog. In one swift motion, Lia sprung upwards, her feet connecting with Damien's jaw and the dog flying upwards with the jackal.

Taking a page from Damien's book, Lia began to stomp all over Damien's chest and face like a flight of stairs before one final stomp sent Damien crashing like a meteor, a crater summoning itself in his wake.

Crimson liquid escaped Damien's mouth, slightly running down his chin, the hound wiping it on the back of his hand. Damien smirked at his opponent who slightly returned his gesture but the two knew this was a battle and they weren't going to let up on each other now.

Charging forward, their fists flared outwards, clashing upon each other. In a battle of reflexes, Lia unleashed a sweep kick that Damien back flipped to avoid, he then propelled forward once his feet touched ground. The golden hero jumped and began to spin in mid-air, black and purple energy surrounding him and making him look like a missile.

His attack collided with Lia, the jackal trying to block it with all of her might until she broke Damien's attempts all together. Sparkles rained down on the dog and entranced him, Lia giving him an uppercut. Damien hit the floor with a soft thud, looking at Lia who took something out from her cloak. It was a gauntlet with three steel claws protruding from one end of it.

"Now what...would that be?" Damien weakly asked, his breaths slightly ragged from the fighting.

"This is my Tri-Claw, a family heirloom that's been in the Redclaw bloodline for centuries. I was given this when I became the leader of my tribe. Let's see how you fair against me now Angels." Lia stated.

Damien, being a bit too weak to make a first move, watched Lia jumping towards him, her Tri-Claw ahead of her shooting forward. The Angel saw her twist and spin in mid-air, gain velocity and momentum. The jackal dived downwards, the Tri-Claw going to plunge into Damien's stomach but the dog crawled backwards, Lia colliding with the ground as if she were a rocket that had crashed.

Damien saw that her weapon had caused her to get stuck much like he did with his claw. He flared out two roundhouse kicks, one knocking the claw out of the ground and the other almost grazing along Lia's head. The dog then smashed his foot down almost catching Lia again, the jackal flipping and twisting into a contortionist like position.

Then the jackal sent one foot flying ahead, Damien grabbing it easily and was unaware of a possible counter. Shifting all her weight into her right leg, Lia brought up her other leg to knock Damien in the back of the head silly, letting go of the jackal's other leg. Shaking the attack off, Damien regained his senses to see Lia sending her fist towards his temple. Damien grabbed it quickly and flipped behind her, trying to get her in a locking hold, Lia only smirked at this action.

"What's so funny jackal?" Damien asked.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me of something Damien...I'm triple jointed meaning I can twist my body into different contortionist and flexible positions." Lia explained, Damien smirking this time.

"Oh, I'll get you into different positions alright..." A perverted smile glued onto his face while Lia's showed disgust.

The black jackal flipped the dog onto his back, flying above him with a fist prepared. Damien quickly recovered to dodge the fist and shot out one of his own, Lia spreading her legs out and then closing them to capture Damien's arm in a lock.

He tried to force his arm out but his attempts were futile. With one swift motion, Lia flipped Damien onto his back and got back on her feet. Lashing out one of her own kicks, Lia connected with his stomach, more blood spewing from his mouth but it wasn't too much.

The female grabbed the male by his chest fur, raising him up to eye level. Damien elbowed her hand, forcing her to release her hold. Damien back flipped a few feet to gain enough distance for another combo, running forward with his opponent ready to attack at any moment.

Damien got near her, Lia tried to grab him but was unsuccessful, Damien sliding under her legs and getting a nice 'view'. Quickly grabbing her legs while sliding, Damien made her fall flat on her face. Lia got up and met a giant knee to the face, flying upwards a bit.

This looked like another combo in the making, Damien walking up her body and flipping off her face as if she were a wall of some sort. To end off the combo, Damien grabbed her legs and smashed her entire body into the floor, calling this combo the Staircase Masher.

The dog turned towards the pillars nearby and got a clever idea, Damien running towards the architecture with Lia on his tail. Damien quickly jumped onto one of the pillars, Lia jumped and tried to stab her Tri-Claw into Damien's stomach again.

The hound flipped and grabbed another one right across the precious one he had been on. Lia attempted another stab but missed again, Damien currently hugging a pillar that was being held by the two they had been on.

With one final battle cry, Lia flew towards the dog who let go of the pillar, quickly running away from the ruins. Lia questioned what he had done that for, her answer coming soon, cracks and snapping noises echoing through the desert.

_Well I see what he had done now...he planned to get me caught in a trap of pillars or get me crushed by them but not being strong enough to break the pillars by himself, he made use my Tri-Claw to do his dirty work for him and I surprisingly fell for it. He's good, I'll admit but I'm not going to let him win now._

The pillars suddenly fell from the top pillar's weight, the broken one being unable to support it. Lia tried to free herself from the pillar but to no avail. The jackal was finally able to release herself, the pillars beginning to collide with each other. She rebounded off the pillar, landing on another one and flipping onto another broken piece of marble.

The Redclaw Tribe leader jumped upwards once again, using her hand like a mini springboard to propel herself towards a small opening. Twisting into a small missile shape, Lia was able to free herself from the 'obstacle course' Damien set her up for.

Gazing ahead, she saw Damien coming towards her, a sphere of purple and black in the palm of his hand. Lia put her forearms in front of her, somehow knowing the impact was going to be brutal. The dog smirked, the attack suddenly dissipating in mid-flight and he tackled her to the ground, pinning her arms down so she couldn't escape.

"It seems that I win Lia but that was pretty much expected of me. Well good fight." Damien stated, grabbing Lia's hand and picking the female off the ground. A smirk sneaked onto her face once again catching Damien by surprise. "What you smiling about?"

Lia then kicked Damien in his 'crown jewels' following it up with a kick to the face, ending Damien off.

"Rule 1 in a battle: Never let your guard down until the battle is truly over. It seems that I win..." Lia said with Damien giving her thumbs up.

"So what did you want if you win?" Damien asked with Lia walking up to him.

"Oh, just to kick you in your crown jewels and since I won..." Lia kicked him in his 'crown jewels' once again, groans of pain escaping Damien's mouth.

* * *

It reached night time and the Redclaw Tribe with Damien slept peacefully, not worried about anything but they did have something to worry about, just not knowing it. In a far and distant part of the desert, a group of scorpions were gathered around a giant campfire, their leader stepping up to the fire but he was different from his comrades.

This figure was a brown coyote with bits of beige fur on the tips of his ears and the stripes that ran along his arms and back. His muzzle was a dirty brown color and his eyes were a dark forest green. His chest fur was a dirty beige and it was swirled into the shape of a cinnamon roll. As for what he wore, the coyote wore beige hiking boots and tattered khaki pants.

"My tribesmen, I have finally made a plan to end the Redclaw Tribe once and for all. At dawn we shall attack and ambush them, they won't be ready or strong enough to fight back thus giving us a secure victory." the coyote explained as the scorpions cheered but the coyote shot them a glare to shut them up. "When we reach their territory at dawn, we shall cause my name and won't give them the satisfaction of any last words...do you know why?? I know you don't...we shall cause my name I tell you, for my name is?!!!"

"CARNAGE!!!!"

"And we are?!!!!"

"THE BLACKHEART TRIBE!!!"

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: Well this was just awesome, hoped you liked the fight between Damien and Lia. That was one hell of a battle, it just kept going back and forth but Lia won in the end and it seems that the Redclaw Tribe has another group to look out for. I hope you stay tuned and review this chapter because I want lots of feedback. Other than that, see ya!**


	5. Blackheart Ambush Part One

Chapter Five: Blackheart Ambush Part One

The morning sun rose from the depths of the horizon, uncovering the darkness that once shadowed the lands. Its shine grazing along Damien's eyes as he awoke from his deep slumber, groaning and turning over to get some more sleep.

His efforts were to no avail, the Redclaw Tribe leader opening the door of his temporary home. Lia the Jackal stretched her limbs, bones popping and its echoes invading the Angel's eardrums. The golden hound rubbed the back of his hands on his eyes, he muttered foul words that were inaudible to the jackal so she shrugged it off.

Damien scanned his contact covered pools around the room to find his signature sunglasses perched on the side of his make-shift bed. Grabbing them, he rose from the bed and put them on, his figure passing Lia on the way out but she wouldn't let him get off that easily.

"So how was your night?" the jackal asked.

"It was...good in a way. I could've been better if someone hadn't violated my manhood but I won't hold a grudge against a beautiful lady like yourself. To be honest, you got some moves girl and I wouldn't be surprised how you lead this group. So tell me, what are we going to do today? Hunt down some food to eat? Train and kick some bodies around like crazy? OH! What about--" His questions were cut off by the jackal.

"We're going to make some new houses for a new family that joined my tribe. Nothing much really and I was hoping that you could help out." Damien pondered on it, his finger lightly tapping against his chin before nodding quickly.

Damien took a step forward, chills suddenly going down his spine. His attention was completely turned towards the west. A giant dust storm was heading straight towards them but that could only be said from some people. Using his heightened vision, Damien saw that a group of scorpions were heading their direction and a brown coyote leading the pack.

"Oh this ain't good...this ain't good at all man!" Damien exclaimed, his tone of voice showing a bit of distress.

"What the hell is that Damien?" Lia asked, her tone being serious compared to Damien's own.

"I see a bunch of freaking scorpions with their giant claw like hands and a brown coyote in front of them. Oh my god, I think that he's carrying some sort of weapon and DAMN!!! That thing is huge!" Damien screamed, his hands waving around to emphasize the entire point. Lia cracked her knuckles, a small smirk creeping onto her face like an uninvited guest.

"Then it seems that we're going to have to kick some Blackheart Tribe bodies to the sandy ruins of this desert after this battle." Lia stated, the people of her tribe now noticing the wave of attackers about to hit them.

Damien's claws became shrouded in a black and purple mixture, the colors running along like the wind blowing the grass through the plains. Lia put her tan cloak on and raised it to envelop her figure, her trusted Tri-Claw attached to her right wrist.

The golden hound and black jackal both charged, the other members were soon to follow. Their battle cries began to arouse their emotions, their only intent being to stop these invaders from destroying their land.

The scorpions began to flood throughout the city, going into different places and battling against different members of the opposing tribe. Damien and Lia were grouped up with each other, their backs against each other and smirks plastered onto their faces, five scorpions surrounding them. Damien and Lia charged at two of them, running along their body as if they were bricks walls.

The scorpions flew up into the air slightly, Damien and Lia rebounding off their bodies. Using their feet, they pushed off one another and gave the scorpions a roundhouse kick, their bodies flying into huts in a puff of smoke.

The golden hound then ran into the middle of the attackers, the scorpions going after him and falling right into his trap. With the momentum he had gained previously from running, the Angel slid along the floor landing on his head.

He then proceeded to spin around on his head, his feet smashing into the torsos of his enemies. Jumping up quickly, he grabbed one's head and flipped him into his team mate, the duo crashing into the ground with a giant thud. Finally, Lia stabbed the last one in the back, his ebony frame collapsing onto the floor.

"Hey, we make a pretty good team girl. Maybe we could be like a duo of kick butt superheroes. I'll be the handsome, cocky, smart and funny guy while you be my beautiful, tough, seductive and crazy sidekick girl." Damien suggested.

"I'll pass on the offer but thanks anyway Damien. We'll have to split up to cover more ground Damien. I'll go east while you go north. We'll meet back here after we get rid of these pieces of trash." Lia stated, her partner quickly nodding before dashing off, sand splashing onto the jackal like water.

Damien began to run towards some more Blackheart members, his feet carrying him forwards. He drifted along the corner easily and his run was beginning to get fun. The hound jumped onto a slanted building, Damien quickly jumping off and smashing his fist into an unsuspecting scorpion.

Stepping on his head like a stepping stone, the vermilion hero quickly jumped down, his foot crashing into his face hard. His feet touched the floor quickly off the attack and he flipped forwards, giving his opponent a rolling kick.

Landing on his feet, he jumped forwards with his hands clasped together in the shape of a sledgehammer, Damien crushing the attack into the scorpion's side. To end it off, he landed on his feet again and jumped forwards, using his head like a battering ram which was pretty unorthodox of the golden dog.

With that scorpion out of the way, Damien charged at a few more who were outnumbering a group of Redclaw Tribe wolves. Smirking and adjusting the sunglasses on his face, Damien barrel rolled forwards and jumped on one scorpion's tail.

He ran along it until he reached the head but the scorpion already felt Damien jumping on his tail so he endlessly tried to shake the dog off like crazy. The golden hound would not give up though so he jumped off, giving the black scorpion a sledgehammer punch.

The scorpion hunched over which allowed Damien to give him a hard right handed punch. Reeling back in pain, the scorpion held his face and gave Damien another attack opportunity, this time with a spinning kick to the torso.

"Hey man, you guys are making this too easy on me. How about I knock you out with another of my special combination moves? I call this one the Crippled Kick." Damien said, the dog bouncing off of the scorpion's head. Damien landed on his tail, grabbing it and throwing the scorpion up in the air.

The hound jumped upwards in the shape of a ball, slamming the heel of his foot into the scorpion's back. The scorpion hit the floor hard, landing directly on his stomach, groans of pain emitting from his mouth.

Trying to get up, he began to stumble on his feet but somehow maintained his composure. That didn't last long as the Angel slid along the floor, crushing his shoulder into the enemy's knees. Damien had gained momentum with that and finally shot forward with his right foot smashing into the scorpion's face, automatically knocking him out.

"Now that's what I call a pretty good combo. I'm so nice with this stuff and I should have my own book. I know what I would name it and what it would be about. The Book of Combination Maneuvers by Damien Angels in which you learn about the basics of combination moves, where it originated and when, how it developed to what it is today and even how to make your own combination move. Man, I would get so rich off of that idea. Probably get that Princess Elise girl to fund my ideas!" Damien thought, a giant smirk spread across his face and money signs replacing his pitch black eyes.

His train of thought was interrupted when one of the scorpions used his tail to grab the dog's fragile body, squeezing tightly to make sure he didn't gain much air. Damien struggled to get free, his paws repeatedly banging on the tail but it was of no use.

When he thought he was done, the Blackheart Tribe member threw the golden one up into the air like a basketball with another Blackheart member catching Damien with his tail and slamming him into the floor hard. A small crater appeared where Damien landed, sand flew up and sprinkled all over Damien's frame. The dog groaned lowly before his eyes snapped wide open, his enthusiasm reaching top peak once again.

"You aren't going to keep me down for long man!" Damien screamed, his voice ringing throughout the surrounding area. Damien spun in place along the floor, sweeping the nearest scorpion off his feet. He suddenly kicked up into the air but his body was upside down.

He used this position to his advantage to slash the Blackheart Tribe members with his Nightshade Claws before grabbing two of their heads and smashing them together like a pair of coconuts. Quickly rebounding off the balls of his toes, Damien jumped forwards and unleashed a Nightshade Flare, the flames slithering towards the scorpion armada like venomous snakes with an agenda.

Black and purple burns made their way onto the bodies of the soon to be fallen with Damien just trying to stay alive at the moment. Once he let the attack go, the dog was bashed over the head by a surprise attack.

"Oh that's going to be hurting in the morning or maybe in the evening, I can't really tell right now." Damien muttered, the scorpion behind him again raising his weapon high.

Damien rolled out of the way quickly and even felt the sheer force put into the attack, the giant steel pole smashing into the sand. He turned around quickly and ran along the pole before his foot flew forward, smashing into the scorpion's face. Damien was grabbing the face of the enemy, a small and dumb smile on his face with daggers being glared right him, almost peering into his soul.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Does someone need a hug?" Damien asked, his arms extended but the scorpion wasn't playing any games at all. He grabbed the pole once again and tried to smash the dog on his face, Damien jumping onto his shoulder just in the nick of time to dodge.

The giant attacker fell to the floor unconscious, Damien laughing just a little on the stupidity of the opponent he recently faced. All of a sudden, a whole giant group of Blackheart scorpions came from the crushed huts and houses, blood all over their body.

_HOLY JOINT!!! They're going to kill me unless...I got an idea but it's a long shot. Hey, it's just a risk that I'm willing to take at the moment._

Damien let off a mighty battle cry, dashing forward with sand flying upwards with each step he took, almost as if the dog had a trail of turbulence behind him. One of the scorpions tried to grab Damien but the dog slid and grabbed his tail, the scorpion throwing him high upwards.

A smirk was plastered on the dog's face, a small sphere of black and purple hue forming in his right hand. Gravity began to take its toll on Damien, the dog extending his hand forward, the sphere slamming into the soft ground.

The result was a giant dome of dark energy expanding from the point of impact, the attack severely burning the enemies around Damien. The dog's attack soon ended, the dome decreasing in size and Damien was panting ragged breaths. Darkness began to overtake his vision and blood stained his fur and the only thing on Damien's mind before unconsciousness was Lia's safety and the Redclaw Tribe.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: Well there's another chapter down for you guys. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I had a lot of school work with group presentations and about five essays but I did all of that so thank god. I hoped you liked the chapter and I know it only covered Damien's side of things but the next one will cover Lia's side of the battle. Hope you stay tuned and I hope you guys review so I can get some positive feedback. See ya!**


	6. Blackheart Ambush Part Two

Chapter Six: Blackheart Ambush Part Two

Smoke filled the airs with a devilish ebony aura and the flames coming from the ravaged houses created a fiery passion inside of Lia to defeat Carnage and his Tribe once and for all. Her home had been destroyed, her people suffering off injury or death and the tear stained faces of loved ones gave her a mixture of different emotions. The jackal dashed into a clearing where her arch rival stood, Carnage the Coyote was taking a big whiff of the air, a smirk plastering onto his face as he saw Lia.

"Ah...if it isn't my old rival, Lia. How has this ambush been for you? I told you that the Blackheart Tribe and myself wouldn't be shunned by the likes of you and your Redclaw Tribe. Face it Lia, your golden hound friend has been killed off of a risky attack and you know you can't stop my forces alone." Carnage chuckled, barely any emotion in the gesture. "I'll allow you to live and go free if you surrender your territory to me."

"Not a chance Carnage, I don't know who you think you are but you won't be taking any more lives from now on. I swear to god I will kill you for what you did to my father, he didn't deserve that." Lia exclaimed.

"And I didn't deserve this god damn disability...but we were both cursed now weren't we? I don't think you see the way I do. That's what makes us different jackal. I think in ways to make myself a positive role model while you do the exact opposite." Carnage sneered.

"You must be sick in the head because you're the one who's being the bad influence. I have never done anything to jeopardize the lives of my people but you're willing to let your men die just to show who's better? Who rules?" Lia asked, her tone of voice exerting much force and emotion.

"Lia...I can't make you understand what I want so I must do what is right for not only myself and my tribe...but for the whole world. Prepare yourself for your end as I take this world and get rid of...the carnage." the coyote stated, cracking his knuckles.

Lia got into a battle stance, her amber eyes never faltering from her death glare.

"The souls and lives of the Redclaw Tribe raise their fists in the air, giving me enough strength to avenge those that have fallen or lost someone dear. Damien may not be here right now and he may not be a real Redclaw Tribe member but he's giving me strength as well. Time to die Carnage!" Lia screamed, her Tri-Claw attached to her right wrist.

"Such bravado...for a little jackal. Oh well, easy come, easy go as I always say when it comes to weaklings." Carnage stated, his weapon being drawn for the first time.

It was a double bladed claymore, two blades popped out from each end of the weapon. The handle was wrapped in red ribbon and it had a handle that resembled one that you would find on a briefcase. Carnage raised his prized possession up in the air high, the sun's rays making it gleam like a star.

"Say hello to my beautiful weapon. I call her the Desert Sun, it elegantly states how beautiful and magnificent it is. I never used this against weaklings but you're the exception Lia. You should feel really special right now...you're going to be the first weakling to die at my hand using the Desert Sun." Carnage joked much to Lia's dismay.

"Oh stop with the chatter and fight." the ebony jackal stated with the cinnamon colored coyote nodding at her request.

On the offensive front first, Lia extended her right hand to the side, the hand gaining momentum for a quick and powerful swing. Her Tri-Claw flew forwards toward the coyote, avoiding the attack with a mere side-step.

With all his might, the coyote swung his claymore in a sweeping motion towards the female's torso, Lia quickly ducking and countering with her own leg sweep. The jackal recovered and smashed a left handed punch into Carnage's stomach. Sand flew up a bit and the coyote used his claymore to create a small sandstorm which carried Lia upwards.

It ceased after a few seconds, the jackal free falling from the air and Carnage giving utter chase. He ran along a fallen table and jumped towards the female, the table being used as a trampoline. In mid-air, Carnage put his weapon in front of him and spun like a drill, striking Lia hard.

Still in the air and gravity taking its hold, the hound reeled his weapon back and slashed the jackal across her chest, her body smashing into the floor. Deciding to end it off, the coyote placed his claymore under his feet like it were a sort of pogo stick, dive bombing straight towards Lia.

His weapon impacted with something hard, gales of wind slicing through the sand like butter and sparks coming from the two metallic objects.

"Very lucky off you to use your Tri-Claw to block my attack but that won't be enough to stop me for carrying you to the underworld where you belong you cretin!" Carnage stated, his words drooling a wad of anger obviously.

"Hey, I try my best to please my opponents in the midst of battle." Lia replied, using her feet to flip the cinnamon colored Blackheart Tribe leader. "Let's get this going on again so I can end you."

"As you wish foolish one."

Carnage and Lia both charged straight at each other, his Desert Sun and her Tri-Claw clashing against each other, the sparks flying from the confrontation looking like miniature fireworks. Using the weight in their feet, they pushed the other away, not going to give up that easily.

The coyote threw his weapon towards Lia who back flipped right over it, just like he had planned. All of a sudden, the claymore began to spin violently around the jackal, her figure being shadowed by a giant version of his last attempt.

The Blackheart Tribe leader jumped inside the tornado, grasping his weapon and disappearing once again. Lia's vermilion eyes scanned around the area but it was no use until she was slashed in the back by something. She turned around, the result being no one there at all until again she was slashed, this time in her torso.

_This is impossible, he can't be able to see me in this tornado, he would need goggles which I know he isn't wearing. So how could he possibly be hitting these strikes? I'll have to just change my plan up a bit if I wanna defeat him._

The jackal stood still and closed her eyes, letting her senses of smell and hearing to overtake her. The whipping lashes of the sand storm and the disgusting smoke that plagued the air but no sign of Carnage until...a slight growl coming from the south eastern area, Lia tensing up just a bit from what the coyote could possibly do.

Quick but light footsteps became more audible, the jackal giving her little intruder a roundhouse kick out of the sand burial. Carnage spat out some bits of sand that plagued his mouth while Lia brushed herself slightly, a toying smirk upon her face.

"Again, you outsmart me. Blocking out one sense to heighten your others giving you an able opportunity to counteract my surprise attacks. Very impressive indeed but do you know why I'm able to see even through the sand?" a smirk was now on his face this time around.

"No...I was hoping to figure that out myself but there's no possible explanation that I could think of. What makes you so immune to the sand and other eye hazards?" the jackal asked, curiosity getting the better of her, bits of sand wrapped in her hand with Carnage charging forwards.

When he got a few feet near her, she threw the sand forward, the bits entering his eyes as she had planned. She expected the coyote to scream in pain from the irritation in his eyes but she got nothing.

"Did I mention that I'm almost blind?" the coyote playfully asked, Lia's face showing pure shock. "Yeah, I was born blind but I can still see you perfectly. I was born with the disability of not being able to see but soon I gained a new ability to counteract my disability, the ability to actually see a person's heat signature allowing me being able to see. Sure, I can't tell what color the sky is and what you're wearing but as long as I'm able to see me stab you and blood splurging out of your body...I'm good!"

"Can I say one thing before we continue this fight?" Lia asked, a nod coming for her reply. "I'm so screwed!"

"Yes...yes you are fool." Carnage's knee made contact with her stomach, drops of blooding spat out of her mouth. He raised the girl onto his shoulder and spun her around making her dizzy, many projected images of the coyote appearing before her.

The coyote swung his claymore and by pure luck, Lia bent her body backwards to dodge the incoming strike. Standing in place with his pivot foot, Carnage continued to spin before releasing himself at the jackal who was hit head on with the collision.

The jackal was caught up in the tornado that enveloped her arch rival, the sand smacking against her body and weakening her gradually. Carnage stopped before slashing upwards, Lia flying up with the Blackheart Tribe leader on her tail. He threw up his weapon and used Lia's body like a springboard, grabbing his blade once again and smashing it in Lia's sternum, cracks of bone breaking audible and blood shooting out like a geyser.

"Just give up and let me win this territory Lia...you're practically dead right now and I wouldn't like to drag your body across the desert and have to hide it somewhere. Kind of messy don't ya think?" Carnage asked, Lia grabbing onto his chest fur.

"I will kill you, you freaking monster and I can't wait to stab my bladed gauntlet through your throat so let's just end this right here and right now Carnage." Lia stated, the Blackheart Tribe leader throwing her fragile body to the ground.

Lia arose from the ground and charged towards her enemy, her gauntlet ahead of her, the blades stabbing into the flesh of Carnage's hand. She smirked at her hit, caught off guard with a giant uppercut instead of hearing his screams of agony.

She rolled along the ground, slightly scratched by the tiny bits of gravel in the sandy surface. Carnage's shadow loomed over the female, almost as if he were the Grim Reaper himself. His Desert Sun was right next to him, it looked like a scythe or scepter at the moment if Lia thought about it. He raised it high and brought down quickly, Lia rolling out of the way as the claymore got stuck in the ground.

"Time to end this right here and right now Carnage!" Lia exclaimed.

She ran over to him and kicked him upwards, groans of pain emitting from his mouth. Lia jumped towards him, smashing her knee into his face flipping him so that his back was facing the ground. Making sure she had a nice hold, she grabbed his leg and began to shift her weight, thus the duo were in the shape of a pillar, Carnage being the one hitting the ground first.

His chin cracked automatically on impact but it wasn't over, Lia with the hold still on his leg as she slammed him into the ground. With one last roar of fury, she stabbed her Tri-Claw into his stomach, blood staining his fur like juice getting on a white shirt.

The jackal took out the weapon from his body and looked at the area surrounding her for a few minutes but her little sight seeing moment was interrupted as Carnage stabbed his blade through Lia's stomach, making the jackal fall to her knees unconscious. He checked her pulse, nothing was there at all from what he could tell. The coyote raised his Desert Sun high in the air although he was in pain.

"From this day forward, the Blackheart Tribe rules the deserts and the Redclaw Tribe is no more. And with this...I, Carnage the Coyote, am KING OF THE DESERTS!!!"

* * *

Meanwhile in Central City, a meeting was being held at the White House where the president and the Commander of G.U.N awaited two people. The oak door opened to reveal the two.

The first one was a red hawk with jade eyes, her straight hair in three long ponytails. Her beak was slightly crooked, probably from an accident or deformation. There were green clumps of feathers in between the dominant patches of crimson. As for attire, she wore red and green sneakers, red cargo pants with a chain hanging on it, a tight fitting red tank top and a ruby pendent around her neck.

The next figure was a yellow hedgehog with black contact covered eyes, his quills having black highlights in them. His quill style was similar to that of Shadow's own and he had black stripes running along his arms and back. His muzzle was tan and he was well groomed from what could be said. As for attire, the hedgehog wore yellow and black sneakers, black jeans, a single fingerless black glove on his right hand and an array of bandages around his left arm reaching to about his knee.

"Phoenix Wilson the Hawk and Mario Williams the Hedgehog, nice of you two to meet us here. How have you been?" the president politely asked.

"Can we cut to the chase and get this done and over with?" Phoenix asked, a pout on her face.

"Don't let your emotions get the better of you hawk." the G.U.N Commander commented.

"Anyway, we're assigning you to Project: ANGEL like we discussed earlier you two but you'll be in two different squads doing two different missions." the president stated.

"And what would that be?" Mario asked nonchalantly.

"Mario, you shall be gaining recruits of different people so we could get more help to find Damien and Phoenix, you shall go and hunt for Mr. Angels." the president said as the two quickly began to leave. "Oh Mario, another thing you need to know."

Mario cocked his head slightly towards the president. "What would that be?"

"I want you to hunt for a special person but do not kill him. Can you do that?"

"Yes but who is it that you want me to search for?"

"Oh...have you ever met Darius Angels before?"

_To be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger to the max guys, may not be the best but hopefully it's good enough for you guys. I know the Lia Vs Carnage fight wasn't all that but I want to hype it up more where they fight near the end of the story! I loved writing this so I hope you liked reading it. So I guess that's all I can say except review with honest feedback please. Thanks! See ya! **


	7. Splitting Paths

Chapter Seven: Splitting Paths

A freezing rush surged through her body, her cheek feeling the effects the most since it was where she was being touched. Her eyes began to creep open, her vision slightly blurred for the moment. The figure above her was a mixture of ebony, white and gold.

The female instantly knew who it was, her comrade Damien obviously concerned with her well being. Lia the Jackal rose up slightly, the palm of her hand rubbing against her temple to dull the pain she got from her battle against Carnage. The Angel sighed of relief, his cocky grin somehow still plastered on his face after defeat. This dog was just so complex to her, Damien slowly digging through his ear using his index finger.

Lia looked around at the scenery, snow blanketed the ground and kept it under cover with many other secrets. The frozen substance was at least an inch deep and almost everywhere varying from trees to rocks to even Damien's head.

It was obvious that the group was now in White Acropolis. She looked at her golden hound comrade, noticing some changes. The dog changed his attire a little bit but not drastically. Instead of a bandanna, he now wore a checkered patterned scarf with little black and white strings at the end. Plus, he hid away the sunglasses and replaced them with a pair of black lens goggles with a white frame. He smiled when he saw the jackal up.

"So how ya feeling Desert Mutt?" Damien asked sympathetically, the jackal somehow ignoring his nickname for her.

"I've felt better but getting stabbed in the stomach by a giant coyote and his claymore isn't always the best experience I'll tell you that much. How about you? It isn't everyday you fall from the air using a massively large attack to decimate a group of scorpions." Lia stated, Damien slightly chuckling while rubbing the back of his head.

"Hell, I think I feel like a million bucks or maybe even more. This angel got wings baby and he gonna keep on flying high until the last minute he breathes. God, the rush of battle and adventure invigorates me." Damien exclaimed.

The duo of hounds chuckled at his bravado although it wouldn't allow them to forget their defeat at the hands of the Blackheart Tribe. With the coyote now in control of Redclaw territory, what would Lia and her people do now?

She couldn't go back and expect Carnage to give her land back without a fight. Her tribe would be slaughtered due to the number of casualties and low amount of resources. Damien, although with his amazing abilities and skill in battle, wouldn't be able to hold them off for long either so it was a lose-lose situation at the moment. Ceasing their laughter, the two rubbed the back of their heads, silence overtaking the mood at the present time.

"Now what? You kind of lost most of your people, your land, your...dignity and your right to call yourself equal to that of your rival. How are we going to go about this? Am I leaving to find my answers and letting you go back to fight for your people...or shall we come up with a good idea on how to go about this ordeal?" Damien asked, surprisingly acting all smart of a sudden, the moment crashing down once he started doing the moonwalk for absolutely no reason at all.

Lia rubbed her hand on her chin, deeply thinking about things like her problem with the Blackheart Tribe, Damien's criminal record and the fact that he needed someone to help him control his powers, those going along with her people and Damien's safety along the way.

Like her father always taught her, the toughest decisions always come down to the things you care about the most. Sighing, she gazed at Damien who had his tongue out for whatever possible reason.

"I'm not going to abandon my tribe..." her eyes gazed over to the remaining members of her tribe and then back to the golden hound, "But I'm not going to abandon you either. I'm so confused on what to do right now that my mind is almost as blank as your own." Lia screamed.

"Oh I completely understand and I wouldn't be...HEY!! That's an insult!" Damien exclaimed, the girl across from him being completely serious right then and there. "Um, continue please."

"Damien, I've known you for about three days but I'll be the one to admit, you've given me a great experience and I wouldn't say anything less about you except that you're stupid, immature and pretty self-absorbed." Damien's face turning more red than a tomato, "But you're kind, funny, caring and..."

"And?!" Damien asked as if the answer to his question would change his life forever.

"And...sensitive to other people's feelings. This, although true, won't allow me to leave my duty to lead this tribe to victory so sorry, you're on your own. Goodbye Damien and good luck on your journey to find a teacher. Make sure that those agents at G.U.N don't capture you." Lia said, embracing the golden hound for a few seconds, the dog's cheeks turning pink at the action.

"And good luck to you getting your land back and defeating Carnage! I'll come back someday and see how you and your tribe are doing. But other than that, see ya!" Damien stated, giving her a thumbs up before dashing off into the snowy trees, the golden dog obviously eager to end this journey and accursed problem of his as much as the ebony jackal was.

Good luck Damien Angels and may the strength of the Redclaw Tribe and complete luck that you always pull off at moments be with you throughout this long and perilous journey.

* * *

In the depths of Kingdom Valley near the City of Water, Soleanna, Darius Angels slowly took in the view of the ruins that used to be some sort of laboratory. The gray hound's scarlet eyes showed signs of boredom and somehow interest.

His mind for the past few days had been on his feeble younger brother Damien and his improvement. It had only been less than a year since the two had last seen each other, the dog suddenly being able to turn into destructive beasts like Nightshade.

_My brother Damien...how have you grown so strong? I have never faced a force like that since that hedgehog almost defeated me in battle a year ago. I wouldn't be surprised if you had beaten me in Dusty Desert. Your attack suddenly cut off...actually your powers cut off allowing me to hit you with a Posinegi Burst. _

_To tell the truth, I wouldn't even be standing here if the attack hadn't failed. How have you been able to accomplish something in less than a year that I even have yet to do?! It makes no sense at all!_

The hound wanted to punch something so bad but he controlled his emotions and didn't pass the boiling point of it all. Darius sighed weakly and continued to trek along the path given to him. His broadswords were strapped to his back, his weapons of pure insanity as he liked to refer to them.

What if the dog is still alive? It would spell anger all over my face if he is. That Posinegi Burst at CLOSE range should have killed him brutally and yet...it feels like he's still alive. I don't know but I have a gut feeling that this isn't the end of my younger brother but hell...he's always been a persistent fellow when it came to his goals and dreams.

_My only dream was to prove to father and mother that I was better than him...to prove that I was actually worth something...but they never gave me a chance._

Darius never really cared about Damien when he was born, just a stepping stone to whatever he wanted and he thought that he would obviously overcome the overwhelming effects of having a younger sibling. He certainly was wrong and he felt the lingering effects even to this day.

Damien...the name was liked memorized in his brain and all he could focus on, maybe it was the reason he was so maniacal, maybe it was the reason he had drastically changed after his parents' timely deaths or just maybe...it was the reason he still had a reason to live.

_It seems to me that he's the reason I'm haunted by the thought of failure. I never thought of my life any more or any less until he came into the world and to be honest...I wouldn't be as strong as I am without him. People would call him a friend and friends are reasons to do crazy or unjust actions. _

_To me, my brother is an incentive, my reason to live was realized once he came to this world. But why should I focus on it this much? Is it because I'm killing off my own flesh and blood? Does he hold the key to my existence or do I just use him as an excuse?_

The gray hound wasn't ever sure about why he wanted to kill Damien, he did think that proving he was better could be a reason but even if he killed Damien, would he be better? Not really, there was still the whole world that may consist of people at equal standards or even above his standards.

These things wouldn't make sense to the average person but it was Darius Angels...he was far from average. He hunted his brother for purposes he didn't understand himself, he loved to bring pain to others and he often liked knowing that pain was just a feeling that he could watch others be in.

Did this make him happy? It obviously did, he had never been happier in years. When his parents died when Damien was 7 and he was 9, he was given the utter responsibility to take care of his younger brother.

_When I was assigned to take care of my brother, I thought it would allow me to put myself further up in the world and make him miserable and lonely. It seemed that my idea backfired when Damien became friends with that yellow hedgehog Mario, he became happy and was never lonely. I gave him a lesson in how to become stronger. _

_Use your allies and family as stepping stones to reach higher goals in life and become stronger than you possibly could be. He decided to become restrained by his friends and life so I had to do what I did to help him but he ran away one night and I hadn't seen him until this day. _

_He possibly could have learned my lessons and become stronger that way...but he's too kind and caring to do that...so why am I the weaker one?! Was he the lucky one of the pair? It's true what they say, the apple does not fall far from the tree._

Darius cracked his neck, the bones popping into place on command and the noises echoing throughout the surrounding area but no one was around to hear. That's the way he liked it though...at times anyway. Silence was what he got most of the time as the lone wolf in the pack.

Would he ever change? Possibly after he completed his goal in life or his supposed goal. Reality was catching up to him and fast, he wouldn't be able to deny the fact that some things he could never understand or achieve. If it was his wish, he could die trying to deny the facts and logic in life.

Did it make his life, his goals, his reality any better than it used to be? That he did not have an answer for but as long as Damien continued to live, he didn't have to question anything but where was Damien and how to kill him.

"Damien...prepare yourself because the real battle will come soon and in this one...you'll lose more than some blood...you're going to lose your life and I will fulfill my duties..." Darius muttered, his feet carrying him towards the exit of Kingdom Valley.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N: Well this was a great plot development chapter don't you think guys? Damien and Lia have split paths, Damien going to find his teacher while Lia goes to take back what is rightfully her own. We even got some background on Darius and boy, does he seem like a complex individual. Why are the Angels Brothers so complex in different ways? Because I intended them to be, that's why!! **

**And this isn't even all that Darius is hiding but I won't give away all the secrets yet. If I thought the Darius part was needed...not really but it gave some insight didn't it?! Yes, I won't be updating as often because my school is real tough on me so yeah...blame them! Happy Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday guys! Well read and review with honest feedback. Until then, see ya!**


	8. A Bird's Eye View

Chapter Eight: A Bird's Eye View

His footsteps were slightly audible, his ragged breaths in the same fashion for a while now. Sweat dripped from his forehead, the liquid staining his backhand, making it a darker shade. At the rate he was going, rest wasn't an option with the authorities on his tail.

Ebony pools gazed at his claws, muddy brown dirt and blades of grasses littering them. This was how convicts and criminals dealt with their lives when on the run, they just never see it coming until it's too late.

A sigh of despair escaped his mouth like the status that he had earned: Wanted Criminal. Using a tree, he laid his back for support and some sort of comfort. Echoes rung throughout the jungle, his knuckle cracking not irritating him one bit.

His bang began to sway with the wind, the perspiration that was once dripping off his face clearing up. For someone that was as complex as he was, he decided that it was time to take a little nap. All of a sudden, a shot rang out from the distance, the male's keen sense of hearing allowing him to identify it.

"Well it seems that I gotta go, don't wanna be made in a fur coat or something." Damien stated, his feet propelling him forward and away from the gunfire.

Adrenaline pumped through his body and anxiety flooded his being. The dirt wiped against his sneakers, the terrain slippery and the golden hound stumbling with each step he took. At the speed he was going, he looked like a vermilion blur with specks of ebony and white trailing alongside him.

Damien rocketed forward, gaining more momentum until he spotted two G.U.N soldiers a few feet apart from each other. In their hands were what seemed to be remote controls.

_Remote controls? There is no television around here so what could they have those for...unless they're actually...aw crap! _

The soldiers pressed a button on the control, explosions soon following after with Damien gasping. Three trees were heading straight towards him. Damien quickly stabbed his claws into the first tree, the living thing spinning in air with the golden hound quickly bouncing towards the next tree.

The Angel ran along it and saw a small gap in between the tree he was on, the last tree and his freedom. With a giant leap, Damien flew forward towards the gap, spinning in a drill like shape to get through safely before using his momentum to run forwards.

Turning the corner, the dog slid to dodge an incoming bullet then transitioning into a flip kick to the chin on the soldier. The gun was immediately grabbed by Damien and cracked in half with ease.

"Well I got my work cut out for me, these guys just want me dead that bad and it seems that no matter what, I'm still kicking their--" Damien was cut off with a giant chop to the back from someone, the dog falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

Dark coal like eyes flapped open and groans came in low expenses, Damien waking up to see himself surrounded by G.U.N soldiers and a stunning red and green hawk female. The hawk grabbed the rope he was hanging on and began to spin the dog around quickly in an attempt to make the dog dizzy. After a few minutes, she stopped to see the male's condition and it was pretty good in her standards.

"Sonic, you're as fast as a snail compared to me man. Just take off the running shoes and let the professionals like me run track and beat up good guys." Damien slurred much to everyone's dismay.

Phoenix sighed and gave the hound a hard smack to the face, the hound's sense coming back into reality. Damien once again noticed Phoenix and smiled at her slyly.

"Hey sexy, how you doing?" Damien asked, receiving another smack to the face from the hawk.

"You need to learn how to treat a lady like myself right you nasty pervert!!" Phoenix cried right in Damien's face.

"God, don't catch your first 45 minutes of the class day on me girl." Damien stated, Phoenix kicking him in the stomach this time around.

"Do you know who I am doggy?" Phoenix asked with Damien shaking his head, signaling no, "I am Phoenix Wilson the Hawk, one of the elite generals of G.U.N assigned to capture and eliminate Damien Christian Angels the Dog at any means necessary. I have already captured you but my commander wants to see you before I kill you so have a nice little relaxation time before I kill you." the hawk stated.

"So you're saying that you not only jumped me but that you're trying to kill me for a paycheck?" Damien asked, receiving a nod in reply, "Now that's some stuff right there, I didn't do anything...well I think I rampaged through Central City and slaughtered innocents but we all do that once in a while. So...um, can I at least smack your butt once before I die?" Damien gets kicked in the crown jewels for that question.

"Aw...I'm going to feeling that for at least a month or two."

Phoenix turned and began to walk away with a soldier on each side of her, Damien's eyes scoping her butt out with a smile on his face. At the moment, it wasn't so bad even though he had the chance of not having kids on his mind.

Damien hummed to himself for the time being, the lyrics of the song filling his mind at the time. What the dog didn't notice was a pair of amber eyes were on him, the figure smirking before moving from its previous position. The golden dog at the moment was talking about how bad G.U.N's name was.

"Okay, if it stands for Guarding Units of Nations, shouldn't the acronym be G.U.O.N?" his answer was a string of groins. "Hey, I'm just trying to fix your mistakes guys. And what's with your commander? A green eye and an orange eye? What is he? Mr. Roboto or something people?" Damien asked, more groans let out from that.

All of a sudden, a scream erupted from the left but no one was there at the moment after.

"Hey...where's George?" one soldier asked stupidly.

"I don't know you idiot, he was standing there just a few seconds ago. Maybe he went to use the bathroom or something like that." another soldier replied.

"Oh and another thing...the soldiers they enroll have the stupidest names I've ever heard. George...Maxwell...Fred...Damien...hey wait, that's my name...damn it." Damien cursed at himself while the others looked at him like he was a mental patient.

A small audible rustle came from the bush where George used to be standing, the idiotic soldier walked towards it cautiously. The idiotic soldier named Fred moved the bush to find a small bird eating some pieces of bread, Fred smiling.

"It's nothing, just a--" He never got to finish, a three pronged gauntlet stabbing into his Adam's apple, blood leaking out like a waterfall.

The gauntlet was taken out from the neck of the dead Fred, the weapon attached to someone's wrist, the figure in a tan cloak. Damien looked over at the killer and the figure smirked, the hound knowing who the person under the cloak was.

The other soldier by the name of Maxwell grabbed his pistol and tried to shoot but met the same fate, the weapon piercing his lung and completely taking it out of his body. The figure walked up to the golden hound, slicing the rope that held him into pieces. Damien wiped the dirt that had collected on him before hugging the figure.

"I never thought you would come back...for me, you really do care!" Damien exclaimed with the figure patting the dog on the back.

"Well I'm glad to be back and now I'm going to help you out with this little problem of yours right here." the figure said taking the cloak off to reveal her identity, "So you ready Damien?"

"You bet I am Lia, let's go show these guys what it means to be real pain in the necks." Damien stated with the Redclaw Tribe leader nodding at him.

The duo began to run forwards but were caught off guard by two G.U.N Walkers, the Gatling guns attached on their hulls making Damien and Lia jump back. Phoenix walked between the two robots to meet the golden hound and his ebony jackal partner.

"Damien, it seems that you've gotten a bit more testy than I wanted you to be...and now, you got a partner in crime. When will you learn to stop degrading yourself young one? So are we going to do this easy way or the hard way?" Phoenix asked nonchalantly.

"Easy way or difficult way? Easy way or difficult way? I go with the difficult one because I always love challenges like you...you're sure a challenge sexy." Damien said, winking at the hawk twice.

"Before you die Angels...I want to say something. You are one sick and nasty pervert my friend." Phoenix stated while Damien smirked.

"And you're a freak in bed Phoenix." Damien replied before the duo jumped to face a G.U.N Walker each.

Lia landed right next to the robot, her Tri-Claw extended to her side like a sword. The Walker shot round at the jackal, the female using her triple jointed body to make an S curve around the hail of bullets. The jackal charged at the machine, stabbing her Tri-Claw into the leg of the robot, the Walker trying to pry her off to no avail.

With one final strong throw, the robot pried her off its leg and the jackal was directly above the machine. Lia extended her Tri-Claw towards the robot and using the velocity she gained, the jackal stabbed right through the machine completely slicing it in half.

Damien charged towards the Walker who retaliated by shooting a shower of bullets at the golden hound. He began to skip along the rocky path, dodging the bullets with more difficulty than Lia had. Damien ricocheted off a rock and bounded towards the hull of the robot.

Round after round came at the dog who used the drill spin technique to dodge again before unleashing an uppercut onslaught of Nightshade Claws. The golden hound landed over the operator of the machine, his hand placed on the glass hull holding the Gatling guns.

With one final smirk, he ejected an eruption of ebony and violet, the flames causing a giant explosion that blew Damien upwards. He landed on the ground safely due to spinning on his descent.

"And that's a wrap baby!!! Now that the action's done, this show is whack and I'm out. But before I go, Phoenix...you are the best baby!" Damien exclaimed with Lia smacking him behind the head for that.

"Watch when we escape Damien, you are so getting an earful of a speech from me." Lia stated, a blush on her face but Damien was oblivious to it.

"Well right now, we have a sexy hawk lady to deal with." Damien replied with a snarl on his face.

Phoenix pulled out an archer's bow with a bunch of red and green arrows and shot two towards the duo, their shirts getting snipped and pinned down to a tree. The crimson hawk walked over with her bow pointed towards Damien's head, a green arrow locked and loaded.

"Any last words Damien Angels?" the hawk asked adding to the suspense.

"OH HEAVENS NO!!!" Damien screamed and before the arrow was shot, a gray blast ripped through the trees, knocking the hawk back with a mysterious figure appearing from out of nowhere.

The figure wore a black cloak with a crescent moon symbol on the back of it, the moon outlined in white and shaded in with a yellowish white color.

"Leave now while I deal with this girl young ones!" the figure exclaimed, Damien and Lia not hesitating to run from the scene, their footsteps becoming less audible with each second.

The figure turned back to Phoenix before charging forward, something in his hand.

Screams of agony echoed throughout the jungle with the sun dawning down on the world below.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this was a bit mysterious than usual. You'd think that these people would not be wearing clothes in the rain forest but you're wrong! Wow, anyway, who helped the heroes out? What shall happen to Lia and Damien? And what other secrets are in store? Read and review truthfully! See ya!**


	9. The Devil's Advocate

Chapter Nine: The Devil's Advocate

Crimson eyes grazed along the ocean's flat surface, the sun's horizon stretching over it like a looming shadow. The canine's gray fur whipped furiously as gales of wind breezed along the beach that he currently stood on.

His breathing was a steady and slow pace, obviously he was in a calm state. A smirk crept along his facial features as his eyes moved left and right, scanning his surroundings. Darius unsheathed his broadswords and slowly took his fighting stance, his smirk being replaced by stoicism, his eyes closed making him look solemn.

"If you wanted to ambush me, I would believe you would need to be more silent and calm than that. Come on out and face me hedgehog and your little lackeys should come out as well." Darius stated, the now uncovered enemies slow to oblige, eventually revealing themselves.

Twenty G.U.N soldiers barrel rolled out of random places, guns in hand all aimed at Darius which didn't faze the canine one bit. The hound's true focus was on the leader, the vermillion and onyx hedgehog that took the direct place in front of him.

Reading his body language, he saw no visible negativities about him. It was as him he was a robotic being although he looked nothing of the sort.

"Darius Angels…the legendary bounty hunter. G.U.N has been hot on your trail since your first taste of infamy. I, Mario Williams, will have the pleasure of handing you over to the cops." Mario said quickly drawing two golden and ebony submachine guns, the barrels of the guns aimed at the bounty hunter's hands as to quickly release his two broadswords.

"And if I refuse arrest?" Darius asked, a snarl emitting from his mouth.

"Isn't it obvious? We'll use force to take you." Mario explained.

"But you should know what I'm capable of doing to all of you…isn't that right Mr. Tempus Toki?" Darius questioned, a smirk glued itself upon his face as he saw Mario's eyes slightly widen, "You are surprised I know your real name aren't you? Well don't but, I have my sources. Mario is the nickname you took up from your friends because you spoke fluent French and Williams was just an alias. Oh yeah and I know about the little experiment you underwent on yourself." Darius told as Mario just shook his head in defiance.

"I really don't care what you know about me Angels, I'll still defeat you all the same. Men, take the offensive." The hedgehog commanded as the soldiers ran towards the hound. In one swift swipe of his broadswords, he was able to push the soldiers back and make them fly back from where they had once came.

"Is that all you got Toki?" Darius asked, "I really wanted some true raw competition."

"Your wish is granted then bounty hunter." Mario exclaimed as he dashed forward with his guns trailing behind him.

Darius stood there waiting for an opening, the yellow hedgehog leaped forward and shot two rounds at the canine forcing him into a block. Mario landed directly in front of him and went for a leg sweep which Darius back flipped over.

The hound swiped his broadswords forwards in vain as Mario countered with a quick elbow strike to the face. Darius reeled back giving Mario an opportunity to attack, quickly drawing two kunai and throwing them forward.

The devilish dog had no time to dodge or block thus he took the direct blow as the kunai exploded in his face sending him flying into a tree. Smoke enveloped Mario's vision, his instincts took over as he began to swipe his forearm around to clear the coal colored air.

Stabbing his swords quickly into the tree he collided with, he sapped the positive and negative energies from it before ripping his signature weapons from the bark. Dashing forward, Darius flew into the smoke and tackled his opponent to the ground before smacking him with the blunt hilt of his sword.

An opening became visible and Darius hopped right on it, slashing Mario with one sword, then the other, finally ending it with a slash to the chest with both swords. The attack sent the G.U.N soldier flying a few feet although he was quick to recover, landing on a nearby boulder.

_Nice attack…It seems that his swords feed off of some sort of energy source. Well I guess that he can't do much without his weapons so why not take them from him?_

Mario jumped forward and drew out a vast amount of explosive and wired kunai tying them together to form a whip like weapon. Darius saw it and tried to block with his broadswords which was exactly what the hedgehog knew he would do.

He lashed his whip of kunai around before whipping it forward, his newly formed chain wrapping around Darius' black broadsword, yanking it away from its rightful owner. Darius growled trying to retrieve it, failing utterly due to the immense distance between the chain and himself.

Mario smirked before spinning and throwing the chain of projectiles at Darius, the whip wrapping around him like an anaconda squeezing the air out of him, its grip tightening with every pull Mario performed onto it. The canine struggled to free himself, his legs trying to gain distance from Mario and his arms trying to pry themselves from the deadly hold of the chain.

"Don't worry Darius, I just wanted you to stay still so I could give you a going away present." Mario exclaimed as he withdrew another explosive kunai and quickly throwing it forward, the weapon slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter.

_Oh damn!_

The kunai connected with the tip of the chain creating a giant web of explosions in its wake eventually obliterating anything in its radius, the G.U.N soldier floating down safely and away from the carnage. Out of the bellowing debris emerged the bloody bounty hunter taking giant whiffs of air, his only sword feet away from his location.

Scarlet orbs glanced over at the weapon laid out to the right of him desperately calling out to its master. Hand extended forward, his fingernails dug into the tan sand and he pulled himself forward inch by inch until he could almost feel the raw power in his sword in his veins.

Noticing this, Mario would have no such thing happening on his watch so he walked over and stepped on Darius' hand, grinding the sole of his sneakers into his fingers. Hisses of pain tried to escape Darius' mouth but he would not allow himself to be so weak in front of someone such as this Toki character. It was just unacceptable that he could be defeated as he was.

"And you thought you were all that huh? I didn't expect you to put up such a ridiculous failure of a performance Darius. I guess we can get to negotiating now." Mario stated easing the weight he put into his foot until he completely got off of the canine's hand.

Darius felt the foot come off and almost sighed of relief though he wouldn't even allow himself to do that. Grasping his sword, he used it to pull himself up and tried to move. No such problem was made present as he walked forward, twirling his sword in his fingertips.

With Mario's back turned, he rocketed towards the unsuspecting soldier. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Mario was able to grab the dog's arm and flung him over his shoulder, the attacking dog sliding across the sand on his back, unbeknownst to him that Darius was able to retrieve his other sword from his possession until he saw it in his hand.

"Nice little distraction Darius…but that won't help you defeat me. I'm skilled in nine forms of martial arts and a skilled marksman plus I got a secret power that I still have yet to use in this battle." Mario explained, his guns ready to fire at the dog.

"I don't need your little comments or boastings, I just know that everyone has a weakness and I'm going to expose yours by the end of this battle. Now come at me with the heart of a lion." Darius demanded.

Mario nodded and jumped forwards, shooting a volley of bullets that were all blocked by the canine. Barrel rolling in mid-air, he threw a barrage of explosive kunai, the Posinegi swordsman flipping over the attack in the nick of time.

Putting his guns in their holsters, Mario clasped his two hands together, attempting a sledgehammer attack though unfortunately, Darius blocked his attack and kneed him in the torso hard. Kneeling on the floor once he crashed into it, Mario could only watch as Darius planted his swords into the sand in a cross shape, the outline of a cross surrounding him as if he were trapped. Growls escaped his lips and Darius cackled with pure insane laughter.

"Good-bye foolish boy, meet your end. Posinegi Burst!" He screamed as a gray light began to blanket the two.

"Not on my watch you monster! Pause!" Mario exclaimed.

His left arm took a mysterious jade glow and with it, time had begun to slow down until all of a sudden Mario was able to somehow freeze the flow of time although he was the only one able to move in this paradox of time and space.

He smirked and took out many explosive kunai and he walked around the canine's catatonic like body. Each kunai was stabbed in a various place on the dog's body ranging from his arms, legs, forehead and torso. With the final precaution of escaping the blast radius, he snapped his fingers which caused the flow of time to go back to its normal pace.

Darius' Posinegi Blast overshadowed him, unknowing of Mario's escape and the blast triggered the chain of explosions from the various explosive kunai in his body, screams of inflicted pain reigning Darius' vocal chords as Mario watched his body fall to the ground in defeat.

Quick to make his way over to the elder Angel brother, he placed his index and middle fingers on Darius' neck to check for a pulse. It was feint but at least he was able to survive the explosion.

"Hopefully the fool can wake up and give me an answer." Mario whispered and turned to the groans emitted from the dog.

"An answer to what Toki?" Darius asked, hopping to his feet with no concern of his injuries whatsoever.

Mario looked at him for a few seconds and gave a small smirk to the hound who just growled in response, obviously still peeved at his defeat at the hedgehog's hands.

Sheathing his swords in their proper place, Darius kept his icy cold gaze at the soldier before speaking again.

"What is it that you want me to answer Toki?" Darius screeched in pure annoyance.

"Are you familiar to your younger brother, Damien?" Mario asked, receiving a nod in response, "He was spotted in a tropical rainforest with an ally heading east. I know that you two battled in Dusty Desert…it seems that he's stronger than you thought. But getting to the point, by orders of the President, I must have your assistance in the capture of the criminal you call your brother and by any means, I will use force if you deny the offer."

"So you never really want to arrest me?" Darius asked.

"No, we just needed to find a way to convince you to fight us…it worked pretty well in my opinion. So what do you say Angels, are you up for the challenge?" The question obviously lingering in the canine's mind.

"I'll advocate your search for my brother, I want to be there when he's defeated once and for all. After all, I do need to face him again to answer a few questions." Darius explained as he walked away from Mario in a rude manner, his footsteps printing themselves in the grains of sand.

Mario shook his head and followed the lead of the dog with the soldiers following him in suit. Unbeknownst to the Angel brother, he wasn't the only one getting defeated once and for all.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY!!! A NEW CHAPTER!!!! Well there you go, I wrote it and uploaded it after I don't know how many months and now you read it I hope. Yes, Mario's real name is Tempus Toki, Tempus being Greek (I think) for time and Toki being Japanese for time as well. Just call him Mario Toki for now on. What will happen to Damien and Lia next? What is planned for Darius and what is going on here?! See next time people! Bye! **


	10. A Crimson Stained History

Chapter Ten: A Crimson Stained History

The illuminating orange and scarlet fire cackled between the two canines as they sat on opposite sides of the flame. Damien's onyx colored pools gazed deeply into the intense flames, every once in a while turning back to grab a piece of firewood and throwing it into the fire.

Lia was just polishing her Tri-Claw with a rag that she had in her pocket, the sleek and shiny metal weapon gleaming when the moonlight hit it at the perfect angle. After a few minutes, Damien reached into his pockets and pulled out a brown paper bag.

He reached inside and pulled out a zipped up bag full of marshmallows he had been saving. Unzipping the bag, the golden hound reached into the bag and pulled out two marshmallows, putting one marshmallow on two separate sticks before handing Lia one. She nodded and placed her food over the fire to cook with her comrade following suit.

"You know, you're not bad for such an idiotic dog Angels." Lia said gaining a smile from Damien.

"Right back at ya Desert Mutt. You're not as uptight as I thought you were. Not saying that I thought you were super uptight, I just-" Damien paused as he gazed at Lia's vermillion eyes. "I'm just going to shut up now before you hurt me."

"Damien, I wouldn't hurt you…as bad as you might think I would." Lia stated earning an uneasy chuckle from the cocky canine. "But I can probably say that you're like a-" Lia paused and looked at the male for a few seconds.

"Are you trying to say 'friend' Lia?" Damien asked.

"No…ally is the better word for it. You're a great ally in the heat of battle." Lia complimented although Damien could tell that she was lying.

Damien's good friends always seemed not to be able to admit their friendships to him. Mario was calm and serious most of the time, usually void of emotions so he can get the job done. They had grown up together and become the best of friends even though Mario wouldn't admit it.

He usually would bring back a bad memory and use it against Damien to change the subject. In the end, Damien could always trust Mario when he needed him most. Then there was his other good friend Throttle, the self imposed party animal and craziest rocker to ever grace the planet.

Damien and Throttle were also good friends although Throttle had some mental issues and had to be sent to mental facilities now and then. Throttle was always there when Damien needed back up however, after receiving a message for rock band auditions, Damien hadn't heard from the mongoose since. The mongoose never told Damien that he was his friend but then again, he didn't have to.

Damien understood that Lia wouldn't say that Damien was a good friend to her, maybe she was ashamed that she had a strong friendship with the hound or maybe she was shy and actually had stronger feelings for the hound. He certainly was a ladies' man in his world and that was one pretty small world.

The thoughts and possibilities were endless and although the topic wasn't really up for debate, the golden hound pondered to why he even cared. A snap of Lia's fingers brought him out of his thoughts. Damien's ebony pools went from Lia's amber ones and glanced over to his marshmallow which was ready to be eaten.

"Thanks Desert Mutt, I would have burned my marshmallows into ashes if you hadn't snapped me back into reality." Damien said before softly blowing his food to cool it down and make it easier to eat.

"You're welcome idiot." Lia muttered before biting into her own marshmallow.

"So…do you mind me asking you a question or two?" Damien asked gaining Lia's attention.

"Sure, ask away." Lia replied nonchalantly.

Damien tapped his index finger on his chin, pondering on the many questions he could ask Lia and ruled out the ones that he deemed unimportant or vulgar. He snapped his fingers in excitement and gently smiled at the jackal.

"How's your family? If you have any that is." Damien questioned.

"All my family are dead except my father but that's a completely different story." Lia whispered solemnly and Damien nodded. "How's your family?"

"My family died when I was only seven years old and then there's my older brother Darius whom I hate with a fiery passion. Next time I see him, I'm going to crush him like a fly and make him pay for doing what he did to me all those years ago." The dog slammed his fist into his palm to express the seriousness in the statement.

Lia nodded to his response and looked down at the ground. Damien had told her about his elder sibling. Darius, the Posinegi swordsman and the stronger of the two, had made Damien's life a living nightmare and could only laugh maniacally as he did the devilish deed.

That was probably why Darius had nicknamed himself the Devil of the two while his younger sibling was the Angel. Two brothers, both on neutral sides of the clash. Darius had a strong sense of justice though the way he brought about his justice was sick from what Damien told her.

Then there was Damien himself, a kind hearted immature soul who had to share half of his heart with a monster he called Nightshade. However, maybe there was a way to balance out the two souls…maybe someone could teach him. The jackal pondered about that for a few seconds before returning to her conversation with Damien.

"I see." Lia stated.

"Can you tell me about the Redclaws and if you don't mind, your father?" Damien asked uneasily.

"Sure…it's a long story though," Lia stated earning a nod from Damien. "Well it all began in Areno."

* * *

_Flashback_

_Cheers, screams and hollers could be heard all over the stadium as the two fighters stood yards apart from each other. Rows full of people gazed at the two combatants, eagerness shown in their eyes. Up near the top of the stadium was the soon to be former leader of the Redclaws and four representatives he had chosen to watch the battle and help him choose a new leader along with the many other votes from the other tribe members. _

_One of the combatants was a young black female jackal with a metal gauntlet attached to her right wrist with three blades pronged out of it. Lia stood there determined in her battle stance as she gazed at her opponent. _

_Her opponent was a middle aged ebony male jackal with amethyst colored eyes. He adorned a beige colored cloak and from under the sleeves, Lia was able to spot two golden scimitars dangling on his fingers from the chain he had on the hilt for each blade._

"_**Areno was a special battleground where the six tribes: The Bluefins, the Greyfangs, the Blackhearts, the Redclaws, the Greenwings and the Whitetails would do battle for pride, leadership roles, items meant for trade or just for pure excitement and the love for battle. After Carnage had taken control of the Blackhearts, he took over four of the other five tribes and eliminated each tribe until there was no tribe members from each group left remaining." **_

"_**He had then decided to leave his quest for desert dominance for a few days so the Redclaws could choose a leader. Abiding by the rules of the leadership role, the tribe members would usually vote for a new leader when the previous declares he wants to step down."**_

"_**Naturally, I was voted to take his place but my father argued with the council saying I was weak and far from ready to take the leader position. Since my father held a large amount of authority in the council, he stated that I should fight him to decide if I was ready to become the next leader." Lia explained.**_

_Lia stood her ground against the male jackal in front of her, she was ready to prove her declaration against her father. The previous leader waved his hand, signaling that the battle had started. The two jackals dashed at each other, their weapons clashing together in a fury of sparks. _

_For a few seconds, it was a stalemate until her father kneed her in the gut. Lia gasped for air though she wouldn't get much as her father began to knee her repeatedly until she kneeled in front of her guardian. The male laughed and unfortunately for him, Lia didn't find the humor in the battle. _

_With one quick and precise strike, she stabbed her Tri-Claw into her father's leg, blood gushing out from the flesh wound. Lia retracted the weapon from her father's body and drop kicked her father to the ground. Her father fell down, hisses of pain escaping his mouth through the grinding cracks between his teeth. _

_He grasped his daughter's leg and threw her upwards and he allowed gravity to take control, Lia smacking down into the ground and forming a small sized crater._

"_**My family may have all died but my father was strong, he was one of the greatest fighters in all of Areno to be exact and he always seemed to be on the move. When I became old enough, I participated in the arena to defend my tribe. At first, I was a weakling but with each and every battle, I grew stronger and wiser with each battle until I could be called a first class warrior." Lia stated.**_

_Lia flipped up and was quickly met with a roundhouse kick to the face, the force sending her skidding away a few feet. Her father then dashed over and kicked her in the chin with the heel of his foot, his daughter flying up before the jackal's opponent grabbed her by her ankle and slammed her into the rough ground multiple times until she wasn't able to flinch at the brutal flurry of attacks. _

_Lia's body slumped out of her father's grasp and her body laid on the ground. As she was about to get up, her father stabbed his blade into her stomach, blood gushing upwards like an erupting volcano. Crimson stained the area around her limp body, her father pulling out his scimitar from her body. _

"_As I told you time and time again dear council…my daughter is not fit to take the position of leader for the Redclaw Tribe. She is weak and not ready to lead this tribe especially with that carnivorous Carnage leading the Blackhearts to take out the Redclaws permanently like he did with the other four tribes!" her father exclaimed._

_The former leader rose up from his seat and glared down at Lia's father with his hazel pools. He shook his head and placed his hands on the balcony in front of him._

"_You just don't get you ignorant fool. Isn't it obvious what your daughter has that you'll never see?" the former Redclaw leader asked._

"_No, enlighten me." her father said._

"_You beat your daughter within an inch of her life and you still can't see how truly cruel you are. Your daughter is compassionate to the members of this tribe and she held back against you because she still loved you yet you were too blinded by rage and fury to even understand that. My verdict, the council's verdict and the entire tribe's verdict stands. Lia is now the new leader of the Redclaws," the leader exclaimed, "And as for you, you will be put on trial for banishment from the Redclaws."_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"After I became leader of the Redclaws, the tribe voted to have my father banished from the tribe and he was voted against. Unfortunately for him, I didn't argue their decision." Lia explained as Damien could only nod stupidly. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to get some sleep. Good night idiot." Lia said before closing her eyes.

"Good night Lia, sweet dreams." Damien muttered before vanquishing the flames and going into a slumber of his own.

_To be continued…_

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**A/N: Eh, not much really happened in this chapter. Basically, that's Lia's history in a nutshell and you could thank Babylon Sky Hawk for it because it was his idea, I just wrote the chapter which I found decent. What is store for Damien and Lia? What is going on with Darius and Mario? What shall happen next? You'll have to find out some other time because I have a storyboard project for the Julius Caesar book due this Friday meaning no updates until I get it done. Bye! **


	11. Running Wild

Chapter Eleven: Running Wild

The morning awoke from its slumber as the two canine anti-heroes looked up at the large star's glorious rays on this peaceful morning. Damien was laying down on a tree branch he found to be comfortable while Lia was in the water, fishing with her bare hands.

The golden hound's onyx orbs gazed at the ebony jackal. The Angel shook his head with a smirk glued to his face, he couldn't understand why he was so attracted to the female canine. Lia was beautiful, smart, tough and caring however Damien had met girls like that before and it usually ended on a bad note most of the time.

With Lia though, it was completely different. Sure, she often hurt him in places he would rather not speak about. It just felt so good having her around, Damien knew that he was love struck however he could guess that Lia wasn't as fond of him as he was of her.

The vermillion hero was broken out of his thoughts as a large object smacked him in the face, covering his face in small scales and greasy slime. Lia hopped out of the lake with a fish in her hands, the fish struggling to break free.

"Next time, learn to actually catch instead of looking at me like you saw a hot girl." Lia stated as she walked over to the fire that the duo had prepared a few minutes before.

_If you only knew Lia, if you only knew, _Damien thought to himself as he flipped down to the ground and walked over the flames with his food.

Using three sturdy sticks, the golden hound had created a object that would cook their food on both sides as long as they twirled. Even Damien was surprised at how smart he was as he smiled at Lia who was using his invention.

The Angel and the Redclaw leader sat down together and waited for their food to be properly cooked. With precise time and perfect concentration on Lia's part, their food came out very nicely and it was absolutely great as waves of pleasure washed through their bodies, their taste buds feeling like they had just been in heaven.

"Damn! That's what I call some fish. How did you learn to cook Lia?" Damien asked, taking another bite of his fish.

"One of the Redclaw members taught me when I was a young girl though she died when I had been appointed leader from a deadly fire that was caused by Carnage and the Blackhearts." Lia explained as Damien sighed and finished his food in no time flat. He began to use the stick that his fish was on as a toothpick, picking at anything between the molars of his teeth.

Damien walked up to Lia and gave her a warm embrace which she did nothing to resist, she only accepted it. Damien's ebony pools gazed into the distance and using his keen sense of sight, he was able to spot some G.U.N soldiers, heavily armed with some G.U.N walkers and Phoenix leading the entire pack.

His eyes widened when he saw Phoenix pull out her signature longbow and summon a crimson arrow made of her specific chaos energy. The crimson and lime hawk fired her arrow at the duo, Damien with Lia in her hands jumping over the quick and powerful projectile as it flew across the lake at lightning speeds. The vermillion hound hung from a tree branch as Phoenix appeared below them.

"If it isn't Damien Angels? Look little puppy, I really don't have the time to deal with your little power problem. I just know that you're under arrest so if you don't mind coming with me, we'll make this as easy as possible for you." Phoenix explained as she summoned another arrow to her disposal.

"Uh…if I go with you, do I get to make love with you at all?" Damien asked with a foolish grin on his face while the question only irritated the G.U.N agent.

"No you god damn pervert!!! That's it! Time to do it my way." Phoenix screamed, firing her arrow at the jackal and dog. Damien let go of the tree branch and Lia as they began to free fall, fuchsia embers encasing Damien's right arm.

With his enflaming right hand, he grasped the arrow and destroyed it with ease while grabbing Lia with his left hand. He slammed his right hand into the ground, creating a ring of harsh flames around him and the jackal.

He threw Lia at one of the walkers, the jackal stabbing her Tri-Claw into the hull of the machine as it began to short circuit. Damien back flipped over Phoenix and some G.U.N agents as volleys of bullets and arrows came in his direction, the shots all missing their mark.

"Damien, get me down from here." Lia exclaimed as the golden hound nodded.

The anti-hero bounded forward, jumping onto a tank which was aimed the short circuiting G.U.N walker. Damien used the cannon to leap onto some G.U.N sentries, bouncing off each like stepping stones until he grasped Lia's hand.

The tank shot a missile and the G.U.N walker was destroyed in the process, the pilot ejecting before the shot hit. Damien began to dash away with Lia in his arms bridal style as flurries of shots flew in their direction, the golden hound leaping and dodging, trying endlessly to not get caught.

The golden hound saw a G.U.N walker shoot a tree down and out of shock, he threw Lia into the air and slid under the lumber before back flipping to catch Lia while at the same time, attacking as lavender flames scorched the machine like tar.

"Nice catch right?" Damien asked, earning a smack from Lia who motioned him to run away, the golden hound obliging.

Damien rocketed forward with Lia in his arms, G.U.N sentries, walkers and soldiers in front of him acting for a barricade. A gulp was emitted from the anti-hero as he roared from pure thrill and excitement although he was still scared.

Lia stabbed her gauntlet weapon into one of the sentries before using Damien's momentum to fling him upwards into the air. In-flight, Damien twirled around like a top as lilac gales of wind encased him in a top as the dog began to carve his claws into the G.U.N sentries, making the machines look like Swiss cheese.

Still gyrating, Damien discharge mauve flames combining with the winds to make the flames to proliferate all over the scenery. The blaze caught the soldiers and walkers, burning them to cinders or severely injuring them.

Damien released himself from his spinning top shape and ricocheted off one of the thrashed machines, grabbing Lia and flying over their opposition.

"I think it's time to get out of here. I'm really not in the mood to hang out with those old friends of mine." Damien said, grasping Lia tightly as he landed on a mossy tree branch, sliding forward at an intense velocity.

The duo began to rocket forward until volleys of bullets fired at them from their side. A G.U.N walker was firing at them from mid-air as it propelled itself upward using jets from the bottom of its machinery. Damien scowled and began to jump as best as he could to avoid the ammunition.

The golden hound arced his arm back before a slicing gale of wind chipped the side of the machine. Damien began to lean back to slow himself down before jumping down from one mossy branch to another. It had seemed to work until the robot had appeared in front of them, causing the duo to groan from frustration.

The machine wasn't going to give up yet as more bullets rained down upon the two canines, Damien leaping forward to get ahead of them. The bullets began to crush the branch to the point that it couldn't hang onto the large tree it had been rooted on.

_You have just got to be kidding me man!!! _Damien thought.

"What are we going to do now Angels?" Lia asked as Damien smirked.

"I really have no idea but the best thing we can do right now is rough it out until we reach the end of this branch…hopefully." Damien replied as he leaned forward to gain more speed, Lia holding onto the dog securely as they jetted forward like missiles.

Damien squinted his eyes as the forceful wind began to make his eyes water a bit. The Angel used his keen eyesight to spot where the branch ended, the end not too far off. The vermillion character reeled his arm back sending an arcing gale of wind to shape the end of the branch to an upward diagonal direction.

With his plan set into motion, Damien threw Lia at the G.U.N walker as she grasped the hull of the machine using her Tri-Claw to stay in place. Reaching the end of the line, the G.U.N walker propelled itself more higher as Damien used his momentum to rocket upwards and above the machine.

With no relent at all, Damien summoned a sphere of onyx and amethyst and allowing gravity to take its toll as he flew downward, crushing his Dark Repulsion attack into the top of the machine, the dome of dark chaos energy intensifying and releasing itself in a giant detonation of the G.U.N walker.

"And this is where I say bye-bye bad guy!" Damien screamed as he grabbed Lia from the hull and flew down onto another tree branch which led them into a new area. The machine on the other hand wasn't as fortunate as the pilot was killed in the explosion and the machine parts fell into the deep green jungle.

As for the canine duo, Damien and Lia landed on the floor awkwardly, the jackal landing on top of the golden hound, their faces directly in front of the other as amber met ebony pools. Damien smirked at the jackal who kneed him in his leg causing the hound to jump up and down in pain.

"Ouch, that really freaking hurt!!!" Damien exclaimed as Lia brushed herself off, scanning the location for the first time since the duo had arrived.

The duo of canines had entered the ruins of what had seemed to be an old library or laboratory since there were vials used for holding chemicals on the floor and books discussing scientific endeavors in them. Rats and other foul creatures made their way around the ruins.

Desks and chairs were broken, water began to leak out from pipes and posters were torn or smudged with specks of dirt. Old photos held in picture frames were on the floor, either dirty or wet from the water and glass was scattered across the ground as the two began to walk across, looking for an exit out of the abandoned building.

Damien closed his eyes and began to walk forward stupidly without any raged to where he was going and he slammed into a bookshelf. The supporting shelf began to rumble as books rained down on the goldenrod colored hound, burying him in a temporary grave. His head popped out from the pile of books as a final book hit his head and landed in front of him so he could read it.

"Hey Lia, you have got to look at this!" Damien screamed as Lia began to walk over to the hound.

"What have you got there?" Lia asked as Damien jumped out of the pile of books with the book in hand.

"This book is going to help me figure out what I am!!" Damien exclaimed showing the book to Lia, the title of the book popping out at her. It read: _Mysterious Energies: The Study of Supernatural Abilities_

"Hey, you're right. Open up the book!" Lia commanded as Damien did what he was told. Unfortunately for the golden hound, the writing in the book was illegible. Damien began to flip through the pages only to find the same result before reaching the end of the book.

"Nothing…it's hopeless," Damien muttered until Lia pointed at the back. Damien found a small excerpt in gold lettering and read it. "The gut who wrote this book, Vortex the Rabbit, lives in Megalone City which isn't that far from this jungle. Just a mile south. Let's go find him and see if he can figure out what's up with me." Damien said as Lia nodded, the duo dashing off to their next destination, Megalone City.

_To be continued…_

**A/N: We got a bit of plot development with a bunch of action to boot. Yes, we shall be introduced to a new character soon and boy are the next three chapters going to be a blast to write. What can this Vortex do to help Damien? What shall become of our heroic duo? And when shall Mario and Darius make another move against Damien? You'll have to keep reading! Review guys! Thanks! Bye. **


	12. Wanted

Chapter 12: Wanted

The duo of Damien the Dog and Lia the Jackal walked perilously through the streets of Megalone City, their eyes set on finding the person known as Vortex the Rabbit. Automobiles and Extreme Gear passed by at moderate speeds while advertisements and news stories played on electronic billboards.

Lia shook her head the unimpressive technology that practically littered the entire city, it was useless and an excuse to not do everything by hand like she and her Redclaw Tribe had done. Damien thought otherwise as he came walking back with two cold helpings of vanilla ice cream, handing one to his comrade and keeping the other for himself. He motioned for them to keep moving and as told, Lia followed the dog without any hesitation.

"So how exactly are we going to find this Vortex character anyway Angels?" Lia asked, taking a lick of her ice cream, her eyes opening wide as her taste buds were washed with a sweet sensation.

"Hold up with the ice cream miss, you might hurt yourself with the deadly brain freeze. Anyway, I have no idea, I guess we just keep walking until we find him and then we tell him what's wrong with me, moving on from there." Damien explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well we might as well start searching for him right now or we'll be here until maybe even tomorrow still searching for him." Lia proposed as Damien nodded, about to take a lick of his ice cream until it splattered right in his face.

The goldenrod colored dog glanced to the right, spotting two G.U.N officers with standardized pistols in their hands and above them were at least ten G.U.N sentries. Damien picked up Lia and zipped away from the officers at impressive speeds.

"Welcome to the Damien Angels express. While riding, keep all hands and feet tucked neatly and orderly to prevent any mishaps and also, there are no bathrooms or snack bars so enjoy the crappy thrill ride and have a nice day. Thank you and come again." Damien joked as he dashed forward, his feet looking like mere blurs as they slammed against the pavement.

Damien with Lia in his arms bridal style leaped onward as bullets flew over their heads and lasers came left and right from the sentries. Stupidly on Damien's part, he ran onto a highway with moving vehicles and ran along with the cars before jumping on them. Sirens blared from behind the duo who turned back to spot G.U.N motorcyclists and G.U.N soldiers in cars, guns in hand.

Volleys of ammunition zoomed towards the two canines as Damien summoned blades of fuchsia energy from his arms to parry the projectiles from hitting either of them. With a mighty leap, the golden demon leaped onto a truck and placed Lia down on the roof of the eight wheeled vehicle. No words escaped his lips, Damien running back and jumping onto one of the G.U.N cars.

"There he is!" one G.U.N soldier exclaimed.

"Shoot the dog down then." another commanded.

Damien gulped and grabbed the hood of the car, bullets beginning to rain upon him. With a giant heave, he lifted the hood of the automobile using it as a form of protection. The Angel jumped and slammed his feet into the engine of the vehicle before flipping onto the back of a motorcycle. He kicked the driver off the motorbike and took control of it himself, revving the engine and increasing his speed.

He lined the vehicle next to the truck where he placed Lia, the jackal looking down and meeting him below. She smirked and hopped on the back with him, Damien popping a wheelie and whizzing away. The forces of G.U.N rocketed their automobiles forward, trailing Damien and Lia by a slim margin. Onyx pools glanced back, Damien growling and shaking his head trying his best to gain more speed.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Lia asked to Damien who smirked.

"Time to use an old trick I learned off of the television." Damien spoke confusing his partner very much.

Lining his motorcycle behind one of the cars ahead of him, the duo began to pick up momentum and zip past cars. The turbulence produced by the speeding cars provided Damien a way to create a bigger gap between himself and the police. Unfortunately for Damien, the police had picked up on what he was doing and began to copy the process to stay consistent to the duo.

With the last gear shift of his motor bike, the duo hit top speed and zoomed into a straightaway. One of the G.U.N cars lined up next to their motorcycle and aimed their weapons at the tires of his vehicle. Lia noticed this first and withdrew her Tri-Claw gauntlet before embedding it in the car's door. She tugged her arm and within a few seconds, she ripped the door from its hinges, the vehicle's accessory bouncing off the driveway and smacking into some of the drivers behind them.

"Damn, now that is what I call cool. It may have been kind of harsh but cool none the less to me." Damien said to his comrade who nodded.

"Thanks for the little compliment but we got a car full of soldiers next to us and no sort of cover to hold them off so keep driving!" Lia screamed to Damien as shots hailed down on them, Damien using mauve flames to repel them away.

Damien leaned his motorcycle to the right so he could be ahead of the car that was previously lined up next to them. Aiming his arm towards the automobile, he ejected dark embers at the hood of the car, heating it up before it erupted into a torrent of smoke and cinders.

The force of the explosion sent the duo thrashing away through the air until the Angel grabbed the Redclaw leader, the pair landing safely on the ground next to one another. They gazed at the motorcycle they had been escaping on, the vehicle was trashed and completely burnt so it had basically become useless to them at this point. Lia sighed and looked back at the incoming drivers before spotting one.

She extended her arm and caught a male wolf on an Extreme Gear board. The board was a sleek jet black with metallic grey streaks on the sides and top of the board with a cobalt slipstream.

"HEY! What're you doing?" the wolf asked.

"I'm going to borrow that board of yours if you don't mind. If you do mind, I think I can come up with something to change your mind." the jackal replied, shaking her fist in front of the canine's face which just expressed fear.

"Take it! Just don't hurt me." the wolf responded as Lia dropped him and kicked the board to Damien who placed it in front of himself.

The pair hopped on the board and jetted onward, allowing the wind to breeze their hair and until an Extreme Gear rider rode up to the side of them. The rider's board was red with swirling purple patterns on it with a crimson slipstream.

"Who are you?" Damien asked as the rider shook their head.

"None of your concern, just killing you to make my money dog. So stop the Extreme Gear and stop in the--" the rider demanded.

"Not a chance in hell!" Damien said cutting the newcomer off.

Damien had noticed the rider clearly. The rider was a female cat, her fur a mixture of pale amber and deep yellow, the pale amber more dominant. The deep yellow fur highlighted the tips of her ears, hair and surrounded her eyes. Her eyes were a bright green and her muzzle was a snow white color. Her hair took on a tussled emo look as her bangs just reached above her muzzle, covering her left eye completely. Perched on her head were a pair of red bug eye shades.

She wore a tight black t-shirt with pink and red stripes all around it reaching just above her stomach, the left arm having a full sleeve while the other arm didn't. The collar of the shirt was cut off to show a bit of cleavage. She wore a pair of tighter fitting tattered shorts, the right leg of the shorts being longer than the left. Around her waist was a black studded leather belt with a large buckle.

Over all of that, she wore an open long black coat that reached down to her knees. The coat was littered with zippers and it also came with a hood along with drawstrings. To finish off her look, she wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of white canvas shoes.

"Damn did you know that you were really freaking hot?" Damien asked.

"And did you know that you were really freaking stupid?" the feline responded, withdrawing a weapon from her coat.

She took out a halo shaped boomerang with three sharp metal blades protruding from three separate areas of the weapon. It was a deep crimson color. Damien gulped at the sight of the weapon and watched as the cat threw the weapon at Damien's head, the golden hound ducking to dodge. He looked back and saw no sign of it before sticking his tongue out.

"And I'm stupid? If I'm stupid, then you need to go back to preschool and I don't even think that'll be enough." Damien mocked as the cat just smiled and shook her head.

"You are stupid and I probably can say that you're the stupidest out of all four of us." the cat replied.

"Four of us? I could've sworn that there were only three of us." Damien exclaimed.

"Nope, you forgot about my buddy Azure. Get him off with the Crimson Strike Azure." the cat commanded above them all.

The trio looked up into the sky and spotted a small creature above them all with the weapon in its hand. The creature was a small neutral stamina/run/strength blitz chao. Its colors were a mix of jade, cerulean and violet. It's head tip came up in the shape of a volcano and two dreadlocks came out the sides. The final touch was the orb above his head which was crimson with blue blotches.

The chao known as Azure threw the Crimson Strike downwards at the back of the Extreme Gear and landed a direct hit. With that, the Extreme Gear began to shift out of control as the twosome of Damien and Lia tried their hardest to maintain control of the board with no avail. Unfortunately for them, the duo could only watch as the board threw them overboard from the highway and to the streets below.

"Oh damn this is so not good at all!!!" Damien screamed at the tops of his lungs.

"Shut up Angels!" Lia demanded as the duo collided with the ground with a thud noise as the board somehow was able to land safely onto the pavement.

Two sighs of relied emitted from their mouths however their ride wasn't over yet as they hit the corner of the street and crashed into somebody. The two canines stumbled onto the floor as the gazed up at the character they had knocked over.

"Can someone tell me what is going on here?" a sophisticated male voice asked.

The question came from a light green rabbit with light pink colored eyes. His ears stuck out like light poles, the tips of them being blanketed with puffy snow white fur. His muzzle was a dark tan color while his face was covered with sleek white fur in the shape of a goatee. Running along his left arm was a red snake like track pattern that reached to the back of his hand.

The rabbit wore a pair of large black goggles perched on his head. Around his neck was a necklace with an hourglass on it. He wore a crimson colored button up shirt with the left sleeve completely torn off. His pants were khaki colored and he wore a pair of green and white sneakers. The newcomer grabbed his hourglass necklace and checked the time before snapping his fingers.

"Darn it, I should have returned home a few minutes ago. Come on you two. You're coming with me." the rabbit said, dragging the two away to a new location as the duo did nothing to stop him.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: Oh yeah, highway madness or what?! I liked writing this chapter a lot. And not only have we inched the plot up a bit, we introduced a few new characters to boot. I hope you guys can guess who these people are though it would be hard to forget these guys. Anyway, check out my other update of Smoking Aces if you haven't done so already. Review! Thanks, bye!**


	13. Bloody Carnage

Chapter Thirteen: Bloody Carnage

Raging winds spoke harshly into their ears and arcs of static danced in mid-air, their joyous festival being viewed by the group of G.U.N soldiers, Mario Toki and Darius Angels. The vermillion hedgehog gazed up into the pitch black skies, his coal colored orbs zipping around trying to follow the lightning's patterns.

His new ally, Darius, mumbled to himself about hating the rain or something of the sort. His scarlet pools glanced towards the anti-hero who had defeated him, the time manipulator leading his squadron expertly through the grassy plains where shelter was sparse. The Posinegi swordsman placed his hand on Mario's shoulder, the top ranked G.U.N agent turning his head slightly to face him.

"And what may I say you need me for Angels?" the bright yellow hedgehog asked.

"I'm aware that you're going to Empire City where it seems my brother has been spotted by G.U.N soldiers but we're going the long way around, wouldn't it have been easier to take the shorter route?" Darius asked with drops of suspicion.

"Indeed that would have been easier but you need to learn that you can't take the king and get checkmate without a few more pieces to the puzzle. Besides, his queen as you may call her is protecting him from our forces so it would be best to acquire someone who can deal with her and then the king will have to make his move." Mario explained.

"So you eliminate the forces one by one until the dog has to defend himself. That may be smart though how are you sure that there is some one who can eliminate the jackal?" Darius questioned.

"Because there's no one else who knows the jackal more than this coyote. He's been able to defeat her tribe as well, his tribe now dominates the desert though today is the day where they hunt and search for food. Unfortunately for them, they'll be in for a bit of a surprise today." Mario stated, the group halting with a group of scorpions and a beige coyote came into view.

The Blackhearts glared at the group of officers, their pistols raised though Mario motioned for them to hold their fire. As leader, he walked forward calmly and no fear or nervousness in his eyes or posture, just confidence and a sense of serenity.

Growls slipped through the coyote's teeth knowing that intruders had come into his territory, ready to eliminate them without any hesitation. He summoned his golden and crimson colored claymore, the double bladed weapon placed by his side.

Within his mind, he counted each intruder he saw, their heat signatures all clumped up together so he couldn't get an exact count. However, knowing that some of them were clumped up into a group, it must have been numerous people.

"Who are you and what gives you the right to intrude my territory?" Carnage questioned.

"I am Mario Toki of the Guardian Units of Nations and I didn't mean to intrude on your territory, Carnage the Coyote, leader of the infamous Blackheart Tribe. I came here in search of you so that I may offer you a wealthy proposition."

"I scoff at your pleasantries Toki, I do not need your money nor do I need your pity. Your words are meaningless to the Blackhearts. Now I demand that you get off my land before I take precautionary measures on you and your allies." Carnage said, his words laced with rage.

"I don't think that's an option Carnage because I'm not leaving without you on my side. Unless you don't want the information that I have which could be really important to you." Mario responded.

"Well if that's what you truly think foolish one. I'll just have to pry that information from you with my bare hands!" the coyote exclaimed, his claymore raised from the ground.

"As much as I hate interfering with business affairs, I believe we can settle this in an easy and time consuming way…we crush that damn coyote until he forces himself to join us." Darius stated, his Sekkyoku and Shoukyoku broadswords withdrawn for battle.

"Then I guess both of your fates are to be tested by me." Carnage stated, picking up his Desert Sun claymore for battle.

"Guess so. I'm going to have fun hurting you then." Darius replied.

"Wouldn't have it any other way dog." the coyote nodded his head, rocketing at the duo.

Carnage roared ferociously at his two opponents, bringing his fist forward at Mario and swinging his claymore for Darius. The canine and hedgehog ducked each attack though Carnage countered by ejecting one of his blades from his claymore, a golden and scarlet chain holding it to its original weapon. Darius was in a bind by the grappling weapon, the Blackheart leader reeling the swordsman in.

Swiftly, Mario hurled two exploding kunai at Carnage who used his lure to block, the elder Angels sibling being bombarded by the detonating blades. The coyote reeled Darius in closer and began to rapidly punch him in the face until Mario hopped onto the tribesman's back, covering his eyes.

Darius uncurled himself from the chains and drained the energy from the plants and grass, his swords gaining a darker and lighter hue.

"Now we can get down to true battling." Darius said, repeatedly slashing the coyote at precise points as best as he could, the canine revolving three hundred sixty degrees repeatedly along with his claymore.

On top on the hound's head, Mario was punching him to slow down his momentum though that was becoming too difficult of a challenge so he kicked himself off, throwing three exploding kunai that all hit their mark.

Carnage leaned forward allowing Darius to knee him in the face, the swordsman jabbing the hilt of his Shoukyoku into the claymore wielding opponent's stomach. Mario and Darius regrouped away from the Blackheart, Uzi Submachine guns in the hedgehog's hands and the signature broadswords in the dog's hands.

The duo nodded at one another, Darius taking the lead and clashing with Carnage, swords against claymore. Trailing behind the Angels brother, the Toki child flipped over, volleys of ammunition fired at their enemy. Carnage saw this coming, grabbing Darius and forcing him in the fire of the bullets. Darius began to defend himself, blocking each bullet that rained down upon him.

"Oh yeah, just use me to block the bullets. You may be strong and strategic but that doesn't mean you get the chance to use me as a toy. On the other hand…" Darius said, grinning madly.

"Shut up and die." Carnage bluntly replied.

The cinnamon colored hound threw Darius up into the air, ejecting his chain out once more and capturing Darius in its clutches. With a mighty roar, he brought the dog down onto his stomach before throwing him towards Mario who collided with his temporary ally.

The pair rose up, the blonde colored hedgehog firing rounds of bullets at the scornful beast who used his claymore to block each one. Unfortunately, he didn't remember to keep tabs on Darius, the ebony and gray dog coming from behind, slashing away with his Posinegi Onslaught before kicking Carnage's knee which brought him down. With his sword raised, he was about to end the battle however the beige character had his own agenda.

"And you fell for the bait fool." he stated.

"Wait a second…" Darius said, the coyote not allowing him the chance to comprehend his plan.

With the press of a button, the end of Carnage's claymore ejected and the blade ruptured through the Angels brother's torso though it wasn't as bad as he had expected. The blade had only sliced through some of his side so he could still battle, he had been through worse pain than this before.

Mario ran across the plains and withdrew a numerous amount of wired kunai, the vermillion male throwing each one in an exact spot. The result was Carnage being tied down on the ground with nowhere to move and no chance to dodge Mario's next attack.

_With the combination of regular, explosive, wired and magnetic kunai, I can create unlimited possible maneuvers and counters. Tying him down allows him open for a direct attack and for this attack, I need him down and still, though I could just use my time powers but that's a strain._

"Just for you Carnage, this one's Explosive Crucifixion." Mario said.

With his opponent tied down, Mario surrounded Carnage with explosive kunai and pulled out an array of different types of kunai. He threw all the kunai at Carnage and suddenly, the barrage began to take form. The weapons began to stick together duo to magnetism and collected to form a large kunai made of regular, explosive and magnetic kunai.

Carnage's forest green eyes couldn't register what was going on until the massive "bomb" exploded, setting off the explosive kunai around him. A ring of explosions erupted around Carnage's body forming a dome of smoke that shrouded the Blackheart leader.

"That was effective but how effective was it?" Mario asked lowly.

As the smoke dissipated, Carnage rose from the depths littered in scars, bruises and burn marks with some kunai stuck in his body. Without any wincing or painful expression, Carnage plucked out each kunai and dropped them all on the floor before sighing at the duo who were prepared for more battling.

Darius charged at the coyote and slashed him with Shoukyoku first and then Sekkyoku before slicing with both for the Posinegi Combo. Carnage slid back and began panting for air, apparently the odds weren't in his favor since it was two on one and he couldn't even see what was going on around him.

"Damn you two. You two are good fighters but I guess it's time to end both of you." Carnage said. "I've got a trick up my sleeve like you two though hopefully mines actually works this time."

Carnage began to concentrate chaos energy into one point and somehow he was able to release his full power. The coyote began to smile before looking up at his opponents who had still yet to see what he had done. Mario looked intrigued at Carnage before shaking his head, something wasn't right about the coyote.

"Wait a second, you're family has this condition! You are born blind but…" Mario started but was cut off.

"Yes. I do not only have the power to see heat signatures. Everyone in my family was born with the power to see heat signatures though we had another secret ability that could only be achieved by the strongest members of my family. If strong enough, we were able to unlock the six visions of regular, heat, skeletal, blood, invisibility and chaos energy. We were blind by just looking at heat but now, I can see you two in five other ways!" Carnage exclaimed.

"Well too bad because your pain ends now coyote." Darius exclaimed as he stabbed his swords into the ground in a cross shape.

Carnage was about ready to escape though unfortunately, Mario exercised his powers of time and paused the cinnamon and beige colored character while Darius charged up his energy. Finally, he released all the positive and negative energy in his blades into a blast of gray that overtook the coyote, groans of exhaustion emitting from his mouth along with the small thud noise that came along with it, Carnage's defeat had been secured with that move.

Darius and Mario walked over to the unconscious Blackheart leader though he wasn't unconscious anymore when the duo saw him ascend from his rest, his claymore in hand. The duo took out their weapons however Carnage shook his head in defiance and motioned for them to hold on.

"So about this proposition, what exactly do I need to do for you?" Carnage asked.

"Oh nothing really big at all. Just join forces with us." Mario answered.

"And what do I get out of this deal?" the coyote questioned.

"How would you like to say hello to your old friend Lia the Jackal?" Darius responding malevolently.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: And what do you guys know? Carnage did join forces with them after being pummeled to the ground by Darius and Mario. It's unfortunate that I made one of my and my teacher's favorite characters look really weak but he's far from that. Oh yeah, he also unlocked a new ability which means bad for Lia if he catches her!! So review! Thanks! Have a Happy New Year's Eve and bye! **


	14. Light and Dark Mixed

Chapter Fourteen: Light and Dark Mixed

_Shrouded within the thick ivory fog of his consciousness, Damien's ebony pools glancing around everywhere around him. The golden hero encased his claws in violet and onyx chaos energy before firing drills of embers at random areas to hit nothingness. _

_Growls of frustration released themselves from Damien's mouth, the dog slamming his fist into the floor beneath him. He had been here before and last time and it seemed that this was the first time ever being here. The fog wasn't allowing him to smell anything and the fog was too thick for his keen eyesight combined with his contacts. _

_Damien tapped his chin in thought before sitting down on the floor in boredom. The last time that this happened, Damien found a copy of himself and talked with it. Then it transformed into Nightshade and pretty much spoke riddles around his feeble brain. _

_"It was a funny surprise to see you here once more my copy." a familiar voice spoke from the side, Damien's copy from last time making his comeback. "Seems that the chase on the highway tuckered you out buddy. It was fun watching you kill and hurt all those innocent people. You truly are a monster aren't you?" the doppelganger said._

_"You have some real guts to face me once again you little creep. I'm told you I was never going to be like you and I'm not a monster. I just can't control this curse that you've put upon me!" Damien exclaimed in fury, fuchsia flames zipper from his hands towards the imitation hound. _

_The jets of fire burst in the replica's face however howls of laughter came from the duplicate whom repelled the blaze away with a swipe of his hand. Damien growled and went for a straight forward punch which was caught rather effortlessly. _

_Waves of dark energy pulsed through the hand of the fake which sent Damien soaring through the air like a rag doll. It wasn't over however with the replica pulverizing his fists into the hound's body before slamming his feet into the torso, his sunglasses falling off his face and breaking. Blood shot out of the dog's mouth like a geyser as he crash landed into the ground and spider web like craters lay in his wake._

_"You know? You'd think you'd get it by now but apparently you don't. This is your mind, your imagination, your subconscious. Whatever you really want to call it around here dude." the replica said in a yawn. "Basically, you can't hurt me and I can't hurt you. Look at yourself for a moment and you'll understand." _

_Damien gazed at himself and was somewhat surprised at the lack of wounds and blood along with the repair of his sunglasses once again. He sat up and saw that even the craters had been remade into the floor. The Angels child grabbed the replica's hand and nodded when his hand phased through just seconds later. With a small chuckle, he reeled his hand back and looked at his copy with glee. _

_"So why exactly do you keep on summoning me here in the first place mind?" Damien asked. "I've been going through a lot such as Phoenix and G.U.N whose been on my tail, trying to figure out what my brother wants from me, trying to find a way to help Lia and a whole lot of other things." _

_"As your subconscious, I help guide you through your problems and aid you with information or advice even though it's always fun playing around with you. Sometimes, I may be harsh but it's to make you learn that you can't be so arrogant all the time. As for why I summoned you here today, it's of grave importance because what that rabbit and I are going to tell you today will surely change your future forever." the copy stated. _

_"Well spill the beans and stop making them hot damn it! I need to know what this important message is about." Damien screamed, swiping his hand across his body._

_His mind sighed and rubbed the palm of his hand on his mouth before snapping his fingers as to say he had an answer. _

_"With the strong connection that you have with your brother Darius, I've been able to reach and keep a mental tab on your brother's words and actions. It seems that he's been drafted into a team that is set to hunt you down and…pretty much kill you and serve you to the gods of justice." the copy said while Damien raised a crooked finger up in protest. _

_3...2...1..._

_Damien began to panic and run around in a state of distress until a slab of rock rose from the ground, a gulp and widened eyes for Damien who ran directly into it. His subconscious self shook his head in disappointment and picked Damien up from the ground, his body slumped downwards._

_"Get yourself together boy." the copy said, slapping the canine silly before dropping him on his bottom._

_"Well who drafted him and who else is on the team?" Damien asked._

_"That's where things get complicated my friend. Darius the Posinegi Swordsman has aligned himself with the Blackheart leader, Carnage along with the two best G.U.N agents there are. Phoenix Wilson and Mario Toki." the copy informed as Damien face palmed. _

_"So I have to go against my best friend who can control time, a cranky old coyote who can't see, a obnoxious bird who slings arrows and my brother who can make his swords glow with dark and light energy?!" Damien asked loudly, his cacophony unpleasant to the copy. _

_"Yes unfortunately though Phoenix is working alone and is in Empire City looking for you while the trio are traveling to Empire City now. It won't be long before Darius and company have you surrounded and finished with." _

_That was some of the worst news Damien had heard all day. This was truly some of the most saddening news he had to hear._

_"I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!" Damien screamed as tears began to fall down his face and his copy held him in false comfort, his black eyes rolling from disgust._

_"Not if you get your tests done quick, your results analyzed and then run away like little girls in the nick of time, you won't!" the copy said. "Right now outside your mind, the jackal has informed the rabbit of who your are and why you're in Empire City. That rabbit is Vortex and he's been running tests on your knocked out body and don't you dare ask what because even I didn't want to know." the replica added squirming from the images that ran through his head._

_"What will Vortex tell me then?" Damien asked with suspense, the dog even humming a suspenseful tune._

_"He will tell you about your past though he doesn't have all the facts and well, that's all I can say for now. You must go. I will continue to monitor your brother's progress. Be safe." his mind said and with that, Damien disappeared._

* * *

His eyes flickered opened to meet Vortex and Lia who were in front of his face which felt a little bit too uncomfortable for the goldenrod hound. The ebony jackal knocked her hand on Damien's forehead while Vortex just stepped a few feet away from the jackal whom he thought was crazy. The younger Angels sibling just slumped down and avoided the punches to his head before getting up.

"You know that you have a real tendency to cause pain right Lia?" Damien asked, receiving a nod from his comrade. "I knew you did."

"So Vortex, what did you get from the results of Damien's tests and the research you did?" Lia asked the light green rabbit.

The rabbit motioned for the duo to follow him from the room and to Damien's shock, they saw an entire lab had been destroyed by unknown means. Lab equipment had been burnt or trashed while glass and unknown chemicals lay ridden on the ground.

Claw marks were embedded in some of the machines and some of the ground was cracked up beneath the trio. Damien whistled with doubt because somehow, someway, he knew that he was responsible for what had happened to Vortex's lab.

"Before you even ask Damien, yes it was your fault." Lia said.

"Damn it, so close to getting away with it in my mind!" Damien responded with a pout. "So what exactly happened to the lab?

"Well I ran some tests on you and they kind of got out of hand." Vortex said with a nervous chuckle.

"Such as?" Damien asked.

"An incomplete physical, blood tests, chaos energy tests, DNA tests, limiter tests."

"What the hell's a limiter test?" Damien questioned.

"That's where this happens. Basically, a limiter test sees how much chaos energy you can expend and how you can use it in very short detail. I used it to see how this Nightshade character of yours works and boy was it fascinating. You pretty much torn this whole place down with your fire and wind attacks. You threw a lot of my stuff on the floor and walls. Did I also mention that you threw us around like rag dolls and tried to crush us beneath your feet?" Vortex said.

"Well no. But besides that, let's find out what you got from the tests dude!" Damien exclaimed with anticipation.

The other two nodded as they walked and traversed through the wreckage before hopping up to a printer that somehow managed to remain intact after Damien's or rather Nightshade's rampage. Lying in a bin was a batch of papers, Vortex picking them up and analyzing them carefully. He often nodded or said yes or ok, to be truthful, it was annoying Damien to death.

Now only if Mario were here, maybe he could fast forward his damn reading pace.

"Well by these results, it seems that my predictions were absolutely correct and it is wonderful to say that. Anyway, after checking these results and with the reading that I did, I can pretty much say that you are in fact a demon but not only that, you're the incarnation of a unique demon though I can't tell you that exactly." Vortex stated.

"And that's because?" Lia pondered.

"Demons come in different species and clans, each with different powers and appearances and abilities. It would be hard to pinpoint which exact demon Damien's an incarnation of. " Vortex replied. "I can tell species and clan but not the exact demon's name that you are an incarnation of . My apologies Damien."

"Nah dude, it's cool." Damien said though in his mind, it wasn't all right.

He had come so far to get the answers to his past and where he came from and who he was to get only most of the story. What if that missing piece of information was important? What if it held clues to his true past and maybe his future? What if it was the thing that separated Damien from life or death?

"Just tell me what species and clan I'm from." Damien asked.

"Well Damien, you are from the Lunar Clan which is why Nightshade has black and purple in his appearance and dark chaos energy. It also means that your powers truly excel at nighttime of course and it means that you have impressive speed due to the Lunar Clan's stealth." Vortex told as Damien nodded towards all of his comments and facts. "As for species of demon, you are part of the Feral Species meaning that you're a dog or an animal related to a dog or you take on a dog like shape."

"Well okay, that sounds pretty cool to me." Damien said with a false smile.

"There's one more thing. Lia told me that Nightshade has another form that is more powerful. I think I have an answer to that as well." Vortex stated however he crouched down over in pain as a crimson arrow struck his leg. "Damn it."

"Nice information to know scientist though next time, you might not want to make such a ruckus while you're testing and hiding criminals." Phoenix said from above.

"Oh man, better bring out the butter and jam Lia." Damien told as G.U.N soldiers surrounded them from all possible escape routes.

"Why?" Lia questioned with confusion.

"Because we're toast."

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N: This was amazing I guess. We learned more about Damien, who he is, what he is and what he can do. Damien also learned about how bad he's got it with the three major allies make their way towards him while Phoenix and co. has him held up. Kind of bland but whatever. Hope you like the reference I made. Review! Thanks! Bye.**


	15. The Phoenix Spreads Ashes

Chapter Fifteen: The Phoenix Spreads Ashes

Squadron reinforced by squadron, the odds were pretty much stacked against Damien and his comrades. The goldenrod hero tried to count the numerous soldiers that surrounded the trio however was unable to keep count. The Angel knew that the only way they were getting out of this was if he had a major surge of powers to shoot out. He closed his eyes and attempted to summon flames into his hands however it was all for naught.

_Oh this is freaking ironic._

"Why the hell can't you use your powers?!" Lia screamed.

"Two things. Firstly, I have no idea and secondly, the fact that you just told them that we're at more of a disadvantage wasn't the smartest thing on your part. No, it just wasn't smart period." Damien bluntly stated.

"Well doesn't this make my job more easier? Thanks for revealing that exciting piece of information." Phoenix stated with false sincerity.

The crimson hawk withdrew her signature longbow and charged a arrow made of her chaos energy while her squadron all took out various firearms. Lia whipped out her Tri-Claw and Vortex just stayed close to the demon incarnation.

"Listen kid, while you have no powers to use right now, I'll have to use my powers to help you." Vortex whispered in his ear while the dog nodded.

"Well, what exactly can you do?" Damien asked the rabbit who smirked.

"Just watch. Lia, hold them off as best as you can."

After that command, bullets rained down upon the trio however the Professor grabbed Damien by his arm and summoned a portal in front of them. The duo jumped in and it closed without another moment to spare. The jackal could only sweat drop from the brutal barrage that was coming upon her.

_And I couldn't go with them?_

Meanwhile, within the confines of the portal, Vortex and Damien walked through the unusual dimension that the rabbit had taken them to. It was just a white area with various open doors, it reminded him of some old movie he had watched.

"So where exactly are we and what are we doing here?" Damien asked in awe.

"You see, I have the ability to summon portals which I can then use to teleport into different locations or dimensions which is how I'm able to collect so much information on different life forms. The problem is that the more I use my ability, the more IQ points I lose so I must teach myself the things I had forgotten." the rabbit explained.

"But why can't you just create something to prevent that from happening?" Damien questioned.

"I may be a genius but I'm not a god. Things just happen and I have to deal with it." Vortex replied with seriousness.

The younger Angels sibling nodded slowly before turning to the many doors presented to the duo. Vortex led him through the paths before grabbing Damien's wrist and chucking him through one of the doors.

"Be gentle!!!" Damien screamed while going through the entrance.

"Finally, these guys aren't a walk in the park you know!" Lia bellowed from down below.

Damien grabbed one of the soldiers in mid-flight before swinging around and throwing him down a balcony. Volleys of ammunition came in his direction thus the canine flipped over it and slammed his foot into two of his attackers' faces. His feet left marks on their skin, the dog not caring as he back flipped and tackled the person directly in front of him.

"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" Damien exclaimed with joy as he knocked out his opponent with one swift punch.

Lia used her Tri-Claw to grab one of her opponents by their collar which she followed with a series of punches. Reinforcements came to help their comrade however the jackal threw the agent into them, the body slamming upon them. One of the G.U.N soldiers tried to attack from behind the Redclaw Leader however she just countered with a throw into a wall.

"This is just too easy for me." Lia said with a smirk.

"This really is fun, don't you think?" Vortex said from her side.

The goldenrod hero hopped upon a broken fraction of the air ventilation system, sliding down and hopping into the jackal's hands. She hurled him like a missile as he flipped and kicked a few soldiers on the parallel balcony. Phoenix decided that it was her turn to strike so she fired a rain of energy arrows which Damien and Lia smiled at.

"She obviously doesn't know about teamwork." Damien stated before jumping down to meet his teammate.

The trio began to run away from the arrows as they collided with the earth, tiles and dirt kicking upwards from the speedy projectiles. Damien nodded to Vortex who summoned a portal which the hound jumped into before appearing far ahead of them. A piece of concrete laid ahead of him so the dog leaped forward and landed forcefully upon one end of it, causing it to flip over and momentarily protect them.

"Good thinking Damien, it helped defend us from the arrows however how are we going to deal with her without your powers?" Vortex asked nervously.

"Well she has us outnumbered still and we're only hiding from her for the moment. Her arrows are swift but not very powerful and then the true matter is trying to lay any sort of hit on her." Lia explained.

"Easy, we use my powers people." Damien answered as static came to life within his palm.

Guns were aimed directly at the hiding place of the trio and hot lead just fired at the slab of rock between the two, small cracks forming from the power of the weapons. The flurry ceased momentarily which unfortunately gave Damien enough time to break out. He drowned his fist in dark violet energy and crushed his fist into the slab of rock.

"I'm back baby! Give your hero a praise!" the arrogant hero declared.

The opposition wasn't ready to deal with a powered up Damien, his claws blazing with deadly chaos energy. Phoenix jumped up from her post and fired arrows at the dog who summoned a barrier of embers to dispel the projectiles. He left the barrier up still before charging like a ram towards the soldiers, their eyes opened wide until he jumped over them.

"Here's a trick I learned during my personal training." Damien boasted.

With a swift motion of his hand, the barrier broke up into several fragments before gaining sphere shapes.

"Whoa, he's getting pretty good with his powers." Lia stated with shock.

"I have to agree, I may have only seen his powers once but that Nightshade character wasn't able to use such variations as Damien does." Vortex added.

The fireballs showered upon the soldiers who escaped their timely deaths barely before leaving Phoenix's side, the scarlet bird trying to hide an expression of anger. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't very good at doing that so her façade was completely blown.

"You three are really getting on my damned nerves! I'm going to kill you all and gain what I truly deserve!" the hawk screeched.

"Sorry birdie but you're going to have to go down. I'm still trying to learn to control my powers and learn who I am but you and your goons are getting in the way of that." Damien exclaimed.

"Do you honestly think I care for that?" Phoenix asked.

"No not really but I don't care that you don't care because I care that I care!" the dog proclaimed.

"Man, you really are stupid." Lia said from behind him.

"Nobody asked you desert mutt!" Damien exclaimed.

The jackal was ready to pound her fist into the dog's face however the rabbit held her back. Lia was really pissed at the dog though she sighed and let the two enemies talk.

"So are you going to come with me Damien or fight with me?" Phoenix asked.

"Can I choose to do both? The reason being because I want to please you after we fight." the Angel said with a smile.

"You deserve a kick in the groin for that one." the G.U.N agent said.

"Hey, it was worth a shot my enemy."

"Wait a second Damien, let me fight her!" Lia said, the dog turning to her with his coal black eyes looking into her amber ones.

"Go, show her how it's done."

Phoenix became tired of waiting for her opponent so she fired off multiple arrows at both hounds, Damien dodging each one while Lia blocked. However, one arrow sped past the two and was going straight in Vortex's direction. Unfortunately, he had no time to summon a portal so his only option was to hope for a miracle.

It never came.

"Vortex!" Damien cried as he ran to his side.

Lia growled at her current opponent and dived at her like a tiger would to its prey, the hawk easily cart wheeling out of the jackal's range. Phoenix fired three arrows at the Redclaw leader who jumped over them and aimed a well placed slice at her thigh. The hawk back stepped the assault and the hound stabbed the ground, easily getting stuck.

"Try this on for size." the G.U.N agent cried.

She fired a hail of arrows upwards which hit part of the roof, the fragment loosening until it began to freefall towards her opponent. Lia looked up and ripped her gauntlet from the ground, flipping out of the way before earning a punch to the face.

"You punch like a weakling." Lia said to insult and anger the hawk.

"Oh yeah?! Then I'll let my arrows do the talking!" Phoenix stated.

She pulled her longbow back and began to condense her chaos energy into one single arrow, the arrow growing larger and more powerful with each second. Amber eyes slightly widened though as a trained warrior, Lia learned to expect anything.

"Try shooting that at me." Lia commanded.

"My pleasure."

With that, the hawk released her enlarged arrow which kicked various objects up at impressive speeds and the jackal actually didn't see this coming. She rolled out the way of the attack however the hawk waved her hand and the arrow followed her movements. This wasn't looking good for Lia.

"You didn't think I had tricks up my sleeve as well. Pathetic jackal, you're doubting my abilities." the hawk sneered.

"No, I'm just confident of my own skills."

The jackal ran towards the agent who swerved her arrow to pursue the tribe leader. She leaped over the archer and stabbed her Tri-Claw into a piece of wood, flinging it separate herself from the attack. Unfortunately, the arrow demolished the wood easily and still maintained its speed. Lia jumped onto the air ventilation part and ran up before landing on the balcony.

_Well guess this is worth a shot. Damien's done stuff like this before._

Lia ran along the pathway, arrow still in pursuit of blood. The jackal turned back every now and then to make sure she kept away from the massive object. When she got into range, she leaped off and went behind Phoenix before grabbing her.

"If I die, you die too." Lia said.

"Damn it!"

Phoenix vanquished her own arrow and unfortunately, she was left at a disadvantage. Lia threw her into a wall and stabbed her Tri-claw into one of Phoenix's ponytails before taking it off.

"Time to return the favor."

Lia began to throw an onslaught of bone breaking punches, blood beginning to spill from Phoenix's mouth and tears beginning to form within her eyes. Lia walked back a few feet and charged forward, ending the hawk's misery with a powerful uppercut which knocked her out cold.

Damien shook his head in disappointment, the rabbit had died and now Lia showed no mercy on the hawk. The arrogant dog left the bodies there to rest before walking out, Lia soon to follow his lead.

"Why must everyone die?"

Those were Damien's last words before leaving.

_To be continued…_

**A/N: Pretty good chapter I guess. Vortex died and Lia pretty much violated Phoenix to the bitter end for letting the rabbit die. I hope you like it, I'll be sure to make the next chapter better. **

**On a side note, I am here to give you the chance of a lifetime! My teacher, friend and great author, Dark Maelstrom wishes to receive more praise for his writing so if it wouldn't hurt, may you please review? Feedback is needed for him and I to grow as writers. So review this chapter and his stories! Thanks! Bye.**


	16. Corner of Uncertainty

Chapter Sixteen: Corner of Uncertainty

"Well it seems that he's already been here and it looks like he tore this place apart." the beige coyote said, lifting a chunk of debris out of his way.

"Guess we're back to square one. He's obviously too far for us to send a call for reinforcements." Mario added, rubbing his chin.

"Don't think that just yet. I could just use my connection to him to sense where he went." Darius stated, his eyes never glancing to his temporary allies.

Mario nodded while Carnage shook his head due to his uncertainty of the dog's abilities. The grey hound closed his eyes and pointed Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku in opposite directions. Since Damien controlled negative chaos energy, his older brother rotated himself and kept his focus on his ebony broadsword. Within a few seconds, Darius felt his brother's presence.

"He's moving east though with the feint energy I could feel, it seems we'll have to cover a significant amount of ground to even want to catch up to him." Darius declared.

"How far are we talking?" Carnage asked, dipping his fingers in Phoenix's blood and licking it for its delectable flavor.

"Estimated, at least six to seven miles covered on foot." the Angels sibling stated, sheathing his blades.

Mario began to calculate the time and distance covered in order to identify Damien's speed per hour. He smiled just slightly before looking to his teammates.

"He isn't going that fast, he's just got the upper hand with the time it took us to arrive. We can easily catch up if we move out now." the G.U.N agent explained.

"Agent Toki sir." a man said from behind the yellow hedgehog.

"Ah yes, you were with Phoenix's squadron. Status Report?" the higher agent requested.

"We had the target surrounded however two other people helped him. One of his allies was killed and the other went on a frenzy and almost severely injured Phoenix sir."

Carnage lightly pushed the younger anti-hero out of the way to talk to the agent.

"Was one of the dog's allies a female jackal?" the coyote asked.

The male agent nodded as the Blackheart Leader cracked his jaw from frustration. His green pools stayed on the agent and he placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

"And she got away too?"

"Yes."

_As I thought._

The villain sighed before rubbing his temple, the thought of Lia getting away angering him. In his furious state, he withdrew his Desert Sun claymore and sliced the agent's head off with one foul swoop.

"A man of my genius can never get good help, can he?" Carnage muttered to himself.

"Apparently not. You sliced the man's head off with a claymore. It seemed as if you couldn't stand that Lia girl." Darius said with a small sigh.

The beige character walked over to the grey one, grabbing him by the chest fur and lifting him into the air. Forest green eyes met ruby red ones in a battle of intimidation.

"I suggest you keep your comments to yourself or I'll be drinking your blood along with the girl's." the coyote hissed at the canine.

"I don't doubt that you have the ability to do so. I just doubt that you have the guts and courage to even raise your blade against me." the dog nonchalantly replied to the threat.

The Blackheart Leader growled at Darius' attitude towards the situation he was in, raising the claymore towards the torturer's face until he could see his own reflection. His bloodstained weapon didn't faze the dog however, his eyes lazily gazing at it. Carnage ran his tongue along the sleek surface to lick the blood off.

"This blood taste so good. I wonder how your blood taste." the coyote teased.

"I'm sure you do but if you don't let go of me, you're going to learn what your blood taste like." Darius proclaimed with a bit of harshness to boot.

Sighing, the canine dropped his partner before attempting a swing for his head however Darius swiftly withdrew Sekkyoku and deflected the attack with ease.

"Now why would you do that to me? I'm pretty sure we made a deal to not attack each other. Well not a deal but a truce." Darius murmured to the beast behind him.

"In your dreams we did!"

Darius glanced back before shifting his sword which released the Desert Sun out of Carnage's grasp. As elegant as a ballerina, the canine grasped the weapon and ejected one of the chain, the item binding itself to the coyote's arm. The hound followed up by hurling the Blackheart Leader into the wall and slamming the end of his claymore into another part of the wall.

"Good move." Carnage whispered.

The older Angels sibling walked over and pressed the edge of Shoukyoku against the coyote's neck before leaning close to his face.

"Thanks but that won't save you from me using your arm as a part for a puppet or maybe I'll choke your dead body with your intestines. It's really your call." Darius responded, his words slithering like slime.

Before he could even say something or make another move, the barrel of Mario's Uzi Submachine Gun was placed directly at the back of the dog's head.

"Did you know that an Uzi can fire around six hundred rounds per minute? That's ten rounds per second and at this range, automatic death to all." Mario stated, slightly shifting his gun on Darius' temple.

"Interesting fact my ally but are you willing to shoot the only connection to finding Damien?" the older Angels sibling asked.

"Sure I am, I'm capable of finding him myself. I was only requested to bring you into the operation. I could easily kill both of you in less than a second. And I recall easily defeating you Darius." the G.U.N agent answered.

"You must be proud of that, aren't you? I was still recovering from an earlier battle. If that wasn't the case, you might not be here right now." the Angels sibling replied.

Mario could only chuckle at the irony that was presented in the statement.

"I thought you weren't like your brother Damien. You two surely love to talk about how strong and good you are at things. Cockiness surely runs in the family." the hedgehog said with a smirk.

Darius glanced over at the friend of his brother's, his hand almost wanting from the pain he wanted to inflict on the yellow character.

"Don't you ever compare me to that ignorant fool or you will die a very extreme death."

"Vostre minacce non mi faze. Non cercare di intimidire me, se si desidera il dolore. Otterremo questo fatto, solo calma e scacciare il tuo ego." the G.U.N agent said in an different language.

"You spoke Italian, impressive. You must be a linguist." Darius commented.

"Sei corretto, ma in lingua italiana e solo una delle poche lingue che conosco." the Italian speaking character stated.

"I don't know one freaking word he's saying but I don't care either, he's needs to stop and get me down from here!" Carnage exclaimed to the duo.

Darius and Mario shook their heads before prying the coyote from the wall, the beige male rubbing parts of his body due to their soreness.

"Why did you recruit him again?" the Angels sibling asked.

"Aveva le risorse e conosceva la sciacallo il meglio. Diversi da quelli che, senza motivo." the hedgehog answered.

"Well that may be true but he's really not a team player in my opinion. I'm not even sure we can actually trust him." the dog explained.

"Well I can trust you two because if either of you try to betray the group, I'll have to kill you both by orders of the president. Stupid yes but I'm not the one who makes the rules." Mario said to his partner.

The duo watched as the coyote licked the blood off the floor, walls and debris. Darius shook his head in disappointment while Mario wanted to face palm himself. All of a sudden, the older brother of Damien felt a sudden disappearance of Damien's chaos energy.

"We have to move fast, let's go." the dog said, dashing out of the destroyed lab with Carnage and Mario following him.

"What's wrong?" Carnage questioned.

"Damien's chaos energy signature has gone missing so either his powers are acting up again or someone killed him before we got to him." the dog answered.

"Questo sembra essere un problema. Si puo individuare la sua ultima posizione?" the soldier asked his ally.

"Yes, I can do that." the grey hound answered.

"Bene, farlo adesso." the Italian character said.

"I'm sorry but can you stop freaking speaking Italian and speak English?!" the beige coyote pondered from behind the two.

Mario gazed back at Carnage and blinked twice before turning back, his black pools looking straight the whole time.

"Avrei sparato quando ho avuto la possibilita." the hedgehog stated, earning a slight chuckle from Darius.

"What the hell did you say?" Carnage asked, his eyes fixed on the hedgehog.

"Sure, no problem cinnamon." Mario sarcastically said.

"Oh, as I thought. And don't call me cinnamon!" the coyote exclaimed.

"Oh Dio, perche ti tentarmi cosi?" the G.U.N agent asked, Darius shaking his head as the trio dashed off in the distance.

* * *

"Damn it! My powers are on the fritz again. Just when I thought I had them back for a good few hours." Damien complained to his partner Lia.

"Shut up, we still have to worry about Phoenix and her squad of agents. Not only that but your brother, Carnage and this friend of yours, Mario, are also on our tail." the jackal exclaimed.

It had been only hours after the defeat of Phoenix and the death of Vortex, problems and tensions were brewing between the duo of heroes just like the trio of villains.

"I don't have to shut up, I didn't ask you to come with me. I didn't ask for you to go brutally beat up some girl to get revenge. I'm not the one who goes and tries to be a hero when someone's dying." the goldenrod hound said, coal black eyes glaring at the female.

"You think just because you have powers means you can do or say anything you want. I fought her because she was attacking us." Lia screamed.

"Well we should have gotten Vortex to the hospital instead, you were just trying to be macho and selfish!" the younger Angels sibling fired back.

Lia and Damien stopped running when they saw a cliff and the city of Westopolis in the distance. The duo glared at each other before the Angel growled at the Redclaw leader.

"Would you have rather gotten hurt while escaping her or fight her until she left us alone?" Lia asked the dog.

"Left us alone?! No one's coming after you besides that damn Cinna-Bun, Carnage! I'm the target on everyone's agenda! You're not the one with the powers. I am so if you don't mind, I'm going to solve my problem while you go rant about how much you like beating people up!" the dog exclaimed in anger.

"Well I'm helping you so I'm a target too! And I only did it because…I did it because you seemed to be in trouble. I don't know what to say!" the female cried out.

Damien paid no heed to her words as he ran down the hills to reach Westopolis, one of the great industrial cities in the world. In one leap, he landed a few yards away from the entrance of the city before looking back.

"What do you want?" the canine asked.

"I want to help but you have to trust me right now." the tribe leader stated.

The dog shook his head and just motioned for her to follow him into the city. The duo saw various cars and Extreme Gears passing by them, their speed just incredibly fast. The streets of the city were huge and the buildings looked like they could break through the sky with ease.

"Hey, it's an ice cream vendor! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream." the dog cried.

Lia sweat dropped at the male's immaturity however it really didn't matter to her at all. Damien ordered two cones of vanilla ice cream, one with sprinkles and one without. He walked over and handed the one without sprinkles to Lia.

"Eat up, we might be here a while because we have no exact idea where to go next."

The duo sat down on a bench and looked at the buildings in amazement. That's when the dog saw an electronic advertisement on one of the buildings.

"_It's new and absolutely one of the greatest books to be published at this era. It's a best seller, already printed and sold millions upon millions of copies. It's Waking the Demon: The Stories and Facts of Demons by Donatello the Raven. So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy NOW!" _

"Was that ironic or was that God sending me a message of awesomeness? Hopefully it's the latter." the dog said with a great big smile.

The hound got up and ran to one of the viewers of the commercial.

"Hey, do you know where I can find this Donatello guy?" the dog asked.

"He's West of this city, somewhere in his serene forest house. Hey, wait a second. I know you from somewhere." the stranger said.

"Oh you must've seen my last movie, the Street of-Hey, look a squirrel!" the vermillion hound exclaimed before dashing away, leaving the person confused.

"We've got to get out of here, more preferably West!" the dog screamed, grabbing Lia, who had finished her ice cream, bridal style.

"No, I want another ice cream!" the jackal screamed, an addiction for the frozen treat obvious by her hypnotized facial expression.

The goldenrod hound cringed when he turned back to see cops chasing him down the sidewalk. Damien began to weave through people like a running back would do against the defense. The dog then came upon a street of moving cars, the vehicles zooming past him like rockets.

"Screw this, I'm not getting caught by the cops." the dog said before hopping from car to car to reach the other side.

He was almost on the other side of the street however he was slammed at the side by a truck that he hadn't seen coming. It was a surprise he couldn't even hear it coming. The duo tried to gain their balance on the moving automobile.

"This isn't exactly how I thought things were going to go. Maybe we should just stay on the truck." Lia said.

"Nah, I got an idea. And here it comes." the dog said.

The duo looked down the street and saw a man driving on a Extreme Gear Bike, a smirk plastered on Damien's face as he and Lia jumped onto it. The jackal grinned as she threw the driver off and Damien took control, changing the direction they went.

"And we're off." the hound said as they moved West to find Donatello.

_To be continued…_

**A/N: Well this just showed how much tensions could be built between various teams like Damien and Lia along with Carnage, Mario and Darius. So the trio of villains run off to find Damien while the duo of heroes go off to find Donatello. Who will find their target first?! You'll obviously have to wait and see. Review! Thanks! Bye.**


	17. Like Father, Dislike Son

Chapter Seventeen: Like Father, Dislike Son

Swift and elegant as a cheetah, the goldenrod hound sliced the vegetation that had previously smacked him in the face, his claws pulsating with violet energy. It had only been a few hours after the duo of Damien and Lia had left Westopolis in search of this Donatello character. The ebony jackal joined her friend in the festivity of killing plant life to advance through the forest. The area was peaceful, birds chirped and the rushing waters filled their ears with serenity.

"The great outdoors, isn't it such a sight to behold?" the female asked.

"Yeah, if you like mosquitoes, crawling through mud and having to use the bathroom using trees as outhouses." the Angel complained, a scowl on his face.

Unfortunately, the dog never liked the outdoors due to the various times he had gone with his parents when he was younger. He always seemed to get chased by a bear at the end of the day though it was suspicious because it was always the same one.

"Well if we're going to find this Donatello character, you're going to have to man up until we find him." Lia stated.

"Sure, I can deal with it but if I get hit by another tree again, I'm going to chop down every tree in my radius." Damien proclaimed.

From the distance, a crimson projectile zipped straight ahead however Damien's keen eyesight allowed him to dodge the attack in time. The same couldn't be said for the jackal who got caught in the shoulder with the chaos energy arrow, the canine forced into a tree. The heroes looked as Phoenix walked forward, her longbow aimed at the jackal and her face scrunched up to show dislike.

"Didn't think I'd find you two again? Well you were wrong. I'm going to show that jackal how things are done now!" the G.U.N agent said angrily.

"Not on my watch you won't." Damien exclaimed.

He attempted to summon a geyser of ebony flames however his powers faded out on him, giving the hawk an opportunity to fire a volley of arrows at her opponent. His eyes widened and frantically, the dog danced to dodge the attacks. Several arrows grazed him and one arrow caught him straight in the leg, the dog falling down to one knee. Phoenix proceeded to punch the dog, blood leaking from his nose and finishing him off with a kick to the head which sent him flying.

"Damn that girl can hit hard." the bloody hero commented.

"Now that I got that blabbering fool done with, I'm going to kick your ass now." the revenge driven female said to the dog's partner.

Lia began to pry herself from the tree's trunk, her shoulder ripping through the arrow like pulling out a splinter. Painfully, she grasped her arm and heaved it with such force to get it freed. Although she had released herself from the grip of the weapon, she was met with a direct punch to the gut followed by numerous elbows to the back of the head.

"Drop to your knees you little nuisance. I'm tired of your antics!"

The G.U.N agent kneed the girl in her stomach, throwing her to the floor like a sack of potatoes. She mounted herself above the female, sending countless fists of fury into her face, crimson staining her already red hand. It was extremely exhilarating for the hawk, adrenaline running through her veins like cars driving on highways.

From above, a cloaked figure sighed, scratching its head as thoughts raced through its mind. It's attention completely on the vermillion hound for some reason.

_Not these two again. I saved them from this girl once already. Guess your work is never done until its done._

Green and red arrows littered the area as Lia's bloody body laid posted on a tree, a jade arrow aimed directly at her forehead.

"Any last words scrawny before I send you to the pits to rot like you truly deserve?" Phoenix asked though she received no reply. "Guess not. Oh well, I wasn't going to wait for you to blabber anyway."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you miss archer. Not after the last time we met. I remember making you flee in complete terror."

The figure hopped down from the tree and revealed himself.

"Not you again!" the hawk stuttered from fear.

* * *

_Flashback_

_"And that's a wrap baby!!! Now that the action's done, this show is whack and I'm out. But before I go, Phoenix...you are the best baby!" Damien exclaimed with Lia smacking him behind the head for that._

_"Watch when we escape Damien, you are so getting an earful of a speech from me." Lia stated, a blush on her face but Damien was oblivious to it._

_"Well right now, we have a sexy hawk lady to deal with." Damien replied with a snarl on his face. _

_Phoenix pulled out an archer's bow with a bunch of red and green arrows and shot two towards the duo, their shirts getting snipped and pinned down to a tree. The crimson hawk walked over with her bow pointed towards Damien's head, a green arrow locked and loaded._

_"Any last words Damien Angels?" the hawk asked adding to the suspense._

_"OH HEAVENS NO!!!" Damien screamed and before the arrow was shot, a gray blast ripped through the trees, knocking the hawk back with a mysterious figure appearing from out of nowhere. The figure wore a black cloak with a crescent moon symbol on the back of it, the moon outlined in white and shaded in with a yellowish white color._

_"Leave now while I deal with this girl young ones!" the figure exclaimed, Damien and Lia not hesitating to run from the scene, their footsteps becoming less audible with each second. The figure turned back to Phoenix before charging forward, something in his hand. Screams of agony echoed throughout the jungle with the sun dawning down on the world below._

_End Flashback_

* * *

_Oh damn, I remember him. He saved us the first time we met Phoenix, _Damien thought.

The figure wore a dark black cloak with the insignia of a crescent moon embroidered on the back, the pattern outline in thick white and the shape shaded a light yellow. He removed the hood of his cloak. The mysterious figure was an indigo colored raven with light hazel pools. A thick scar ran down his right eye and just under his left eye was a bandage. His hair was slicked back and tied up by a hairpin.

"Yes, it's me again and you seem to have attacked these poor travelers once again. It seems you must want to face me again." the raven assumed.

With the waving of her hands, the hawk signaled that she didn't want to face the male character. Unfortunately, the bird looked into her eyes and produced an image within her mind causing the girl to scream in terror. While incapable to fight back, the cloaked hero dashed over and struck several pressure points to cease the hawk's movement though it was impossible to see where he struck.

"Fall."

Like a dead weight, Phoenix fell down to the ground defeated while Damien and Lia walked over to their savior. Suddenly, the older male embraced the dog with tears running down his eyes. The Angel pushed the old man back before looking at him strangely.

"Whoa dude, I'm into chicks, not dudes. And besides, even if you were a chick, you'd probably too old for me." the dog stated.

It was as if smoke dispersed from his ears and infuriated ruby rushed into his eyes, the raven grabbed the dog and threw him through a tree.

"You have to learn to respect your elders you foolish child. It's kids like you that make me glad I'm not a parent." the bird said, cleaning up his hands.

"Who exactly are you?" the Redclaw Tribe leader questioned.

"I would be glad to answer that question. I am Donatello the Raven, famous writer, fighter and martial arts teacher. That dog right there, your friend, is Damien Christian Angels who is also my godson." the newly introduced Donatello stated.

"Wait, so that makes you my uncle?! No wait, you'd be my grandfather but he's dead. Oh snap, you're my cousin!" Damien screamed out of joy while the other two sweat dropped.

"But how exactly is that possible?" the ebony female asked.

"His father and mother, Severus and Sarah were great colleges of mine when it came to science and they decided that if they were to have kids, I would be their godfather so I now am the guardian of two young boys."

"I'm fifteen so I don't need you here!"

"He's more of an idiot than I remember him being last time we saw each other when he was five." the martial arts teacher declared.

"Imagine being with him twenty four seven for numerous days. It's an idiot convention all day, every day." Lia joked.

Damien ran over and embraced his godfather tightly, Donatello returning the hug as the dog began to smile. He thought that the only remaining family member he had was Darius but this was a sigh of relief indeed. Lia smiled over the touching family moment though she understood how having her family back felt.

"So how are you Damien?" the godfather asked.

"I'm great, still learning how to manipulate my powers but the progress is getting better and better with time." the godson answered.

"And your brother?"

Damien's coal black eyes went into a solemn state and automatically the bird knew that the subject of Darius Angels had to be taken out of the conversation.

"Fine. So why exactly are you out here then?"

"Well it's funny because we were actually out here looking for you. See, I'm still trying to learn how to use your powers but it's harder than I thought to the point in which I have little to no control of Nightshade. Fortunately, Lia can suppress my powers if needed."

"That's good."

"When we were in Westopolis, we saw an advertisement for your newest book and decided to see you!" Damien explained.

The elder nodded slowly, easily processing the information fed to him through his mind. He did become a writer and scientist to study the patterns and personas of demons for his two godsons. A smile spread across his face as he nodded eagerly.

"I understand. You need me to teach you how to control your powers to the point where you effective control of them and they won't fade out?"

"Pretty much." the Angel answered.

"Well you better start calling me sensei for the next few days because you will have hard work to do if you truly want to master your abilities." Donatello stated, earning a nod from Damien.

With that, Damien, Donatello and Lia began to walk away from the scene as Phoenix's body soon began to move once more.

* * *

"Si puo certo senso lo da qui?"

"Unfortunately no, his powers have faded out once again meaning we'll have to set up camp for now."

The villainous trio of Darius Angels, Mario Toki and Carnage had stopped dashing through the thick forest as soon as nightfall hit. The beige coyote growled at the vermillion hedgehog, the G.U.N agent leaning back nonchalantly and waving his hand in front of his face.

"Si chiama un coyote menta respiro." the hedgehog commented.

"Oh my god, can you stop speaking Italian you damn fool?! Ever since you started doing that days ago, it's been annoying the hell out of me because I don't understand a word you're saying." the Blackheart Tribe leader exclaimed at the leader of the group.

"The fighting needs to stop because if we aren't on the same page when we meet with Damien, what's to say he won't defeat us?" Darius said, his eyes closed as he leaned against a tree.

"Why should we be worried? I defeated Lia the last time I faced her and you defeated your brother last time you faced him. If I'm about to lose, I'll always bring out my back up plan if you know what I mean." Carnage replied.

"Inoltre, Damien troppo arroganti per mettere in su una lotta reale. Per quanto riguarda lo sciacallo, lei è troppo testa calda come la sua rivale." Mario added.

"As much as I would love to agree with you two, we can't be too carefree against either of them. I was almost killed by that beast he calls Nightshade and Carnage, you had to use a sneak attack to dispose of Lia." the Devil explained his side of the argument.

"He does make some sense. But with Mario's manipulation of time, we have an extreme advantage over the duo. It would be amazing for those two to defeat us three and our army of Blackheart soldiers and G.U.N agents." Carnage added.

"Ricordate, la mia manipolazione del tempo sottolinea me il più lo uso." the third member interjected.

"And nothing of ours rivals the power of Damien's Nightshade form. Well that was until a few days ago. I've unlocked my true power." Darius proclaimed.

"Do you have control of it though?" the coyote asked.

The grey dog nodded, looking at his right arm in fascination. He was now able to rival Damien in every form and in every way. But could he beat Damien once again even without the luck he got the first time?

_There's no way I'm going to get caught off guard by his attacks like I did last time. He may have unlocked his stronger form before I did but in the end, I will always be stronger than him. I need to accomplish my true goal, the goal I've been setting up for countless years._

"Penso che la vera domanda è sei sicuro che il nuovo potere sono fino a pari con Nightshade?"

"Yes I'm sure it does. When we raided that rabbit's lab, I looked at my brother's results and then took some tests on myself. After some comparison, it is safe to say that my power overpowers my brother's. He's just a rookie." Darius answered.

"I see then. If you can't defeat him, then I'll take over and finish it and vice versa. He may have been my friend before but duty calls and he's a criminal." Mario stated.

Carnage raised his Desert Sun claymore while Mario did the same with his Uzi Submachine guns and Darius followed with Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku. The trio put their weapons together in a circle and raised them upwards.

_Lia the Jackal of the Redclaw Tribe, your head and your entire tribes' heads will be placed on my pedestal when I'm done with their precious little leader._

_Damien, we were once friends but now we're enemies. I wished it could've been different but unfortunately, that isn't the case. I'm sorry._

_We're brothers, family but nonetheless, I must do what is right. Your sacrifice will not be in vain younger sibling. I will become more powerful, god like even. The Moonlight Form shall make this finale interesting._

The trio raised their weapons into the air.

_Damien Angels, tomorrow…_

Darius smirked evilly as his last thought finished.

_You die…_

_To be continued…_

**A/N: Well this is it! The Finale Arc is about to start finally in the next chapter which will showcase our first battle though I'm giving you the chance to choose which one shall be shown. Anyway, a few answers were given but more questions have arisen. What is this Moonlight Form? What is Darius' true goal? Can Damien and Lia ultimately win? Review! Thanks! Bye. **


	18. Forever and Always

Chapter Eighteen: Forever and Always

After countless days of training and honing his skills in not only controlling his powers but also in martial arts and meditation, Damien felt like he was ready to defeat anyone that stood in his way. The vermillion dog's mind was only on the trio of Mario, Carnage and Darius. Surely, he could defeat one or two of them however all three would present a challenge. Thankfully, he had Lia and his godfather Donatello at his side.

"Good morning Donny! How's your day been so far?" the Angel greeted.

Donatello backhanded his godson, the arrogant idiot falling to the floor in a dazed heap.

"Surely you don't greet your family member and sensei like that foolish boy." the raven sneered.

"Oh, look at the flying stars mommy." the younger brother stated.

Suddenly, the elder heard a noise with his keen sense of hearing, the hero doing the same though they were unable to identify the noise. The hound instinctively growled at a murmur until arbitrary gunshots flew from the trees and bushes, the duo dodging with skill and ease. G.U.N soldiers emerged from their hiding spots, firearms prepared to strike down at any moment.

"Looks like we've got company." the ebony jackal said, entering the fray.

"Nice of you to join us dear Redclaw Leader." a familiar voice said.

As if a king were present, the agents divided in two and bowed down at the presence of their top agent, Mario Toki the Hedgehog. The amber anti-hero shook his head before allowing his men to rise, his hands in his pockets to maintain his stoic persona.

"Long time no see buddy old pal!" the dog exclaimed in joy as he dashed towards Mario.

Unfortunately, the top agent wasn't as joyous to see his old friend, using his chronological powers to pause Damien in the flow of time. A jade glow enveloped the dog who had no idea what was going on as time reversed back to when the hero had first saw Mario.

"Hey, what's going on here?" the half demon asked.

Just as he had expected, his former friend had no idea what was going on at this time. Out of the blue, the Blackheart Leader, Carnage, walked over with his Desert Sun claymore shining valiantly in the sunlight. Lia growled at the bloodthirsty beast, the coyote licking his lips evilly.

"Is it not obvious dear friend? I'm here to capture you and bring you back to G.U.N headquarters. As for your allies, they are none of my concern so Carnage will decide their fate." the Italian speaking male explained. "Your brother would be delighted to see you again after your previous affair."

"Sorry but I'm not going nowhere and you're not going to do anything with my friends so leave now or you're all going down." the hero commanded.

"Well I'd beg to differ kid. We came here for the prize and we intend to get it. I don't care much what happens to you but I want the girl's head as promised." the beige beast roared, activating his weapon's chain feature.

"Listen here Cinna-Bun, I don't give a hoot who you are or what you want but if it's bad, then step aside because I'm not letting you get it." Damien said with determination.

The words of the Angel didn't matter to the Blackheart Leader as he hurled his chain around Lia. She struggled to free herself though she didn't have after her rival hurled her away. The prize was getting away so Carnage and his minions chased after it at lightning speeds.

"LIA!" the dog screamed as he attempted to chase after them though Donatello stopped.

"Focus my son. Your true battle lies here with him," the bird referring to Mario. "I'll go get your friend. Just deal with the problem at hand and then meet up with me at the hill outside the forest."

Hesitantly, the dog closed his eyes and slowly nodded, showing his confidence for his godfather. The indigo elder dashed off leaving Damien to face Mario and his minions.

"Go assist the coyote, the raven is extremely powerful and I don't want anything to go astray. I'll deal with the half demon."

The agents nodded to their superior as they ran past Damien, their feet in rhythm and their breath in almost perfect unison. It was evident that his former friend had been able to make his squadron have almost complete chemistry. Two pairs of coal black eyes gazed at one another, the dog smiling at the hedgehog.

"Hey, you still have the old contacts I gave you and you still wear them too. You really do care." the dog said with a smile.

"Are you done with your silly antics or shall we get this started?" Mario sighed.

The dog scratched his head and leaned back, thinking about an adequate answer.

"No because we're still best friends like we once used to be. Best friends Mario, forever and always dude." the hero said.

"And as my friend, you'll allow me to do my job and get you to G.U.N headquarters." the top soldier said.

"And as my friend, you'll allow me to go free and help my friends fend off your ally." the half demon replied.

"Then we're at a stalemate my dear friend. Let's just end this quickly so I can complete my mission." the G.U.N agent stated.

"In your dreams. I'm not going with you Mario."

Damien's claws glowed with violet energy as he charged forward, his opponent withdrawing his signature Uzi Submachine guns. Attempting to fend his foe back, Mario fired precise shots near the feet of the canine to cause him to stagger. The hero was too confident and swift however, zipping through the minuscule projectiles with grace. He leaped into the air and fired off gales of lilac wind at the hedgehog who looked calm.

Mario back stepped out of each one's range before hurling an array of explosive kunai which Damien deflected with a barrier of static. The detonations pushed the hound away, allowing the anti-hero to gain some distance and some time. Balls of fire surrounded the dog like a flaming halo as each one descended upon his adversary like a meteor storm, each one missing their mark.

_Guess the training did pay off but Mario's skilled so I better not count my chickens until they've hatched._

"Excellent moves but you aren't disciplined enough to use them to their full extent." Mario stated, throwing a line of kunai at his friend.

"That's what you think but it's not nice to assume. My training's not going to let me down against you so bring out your big guns man." Damien responded, firing swallowing waves of combustion to defend himself.

The gun wielder flipped over the other combatant, trying to shoot from his blind side however the dog was able to use his embers to form a protective sphere around himself. A smirk crawled upon the dog's face as he got his friend right where he wanted him. Using his affinity over electricity, he magnetized Mario's feet to the floor and shot off pressurized waves or air to force him back.

Quick to counter, the amber and onyx male used his own magnetic kunai to create a neutral charge, allowing him to escape his prison and dodge the incoming attack. It was astounding how no matter what he threw at him, Mario would always find a way to counter his move. This time around, Damien began to rotate in place, blanketing himself in ebony and lavender flames to becoming a blazing spinning top.

The golden dog spun towards his ally and attempted to burn him to a crisp though Mario had a way to counter and attack in a single chain. He withdrew his guns once more and shot at the feet of his friend, causing him to lose balance. On the offensive, the yellow hedgehog threw a flurry of explosive and magnetic kunai to create an explosive arrow of blades.

"And you give me a counter luckily so try this on for size." the hound smiled.

Going into Mario's playbook, the dog used the highly charged particles in the air and his affinity over electricity to separate the arrow into smaller ones that curved right around him. Mario smiled at that smart maneuver, he was impressed on how well Damien had grown although he also had grown so it was an even battle for the moment.

_I don't think I'll be able to hit him if I give out the first move so my best move will be to allow him to strike first and then counter attack. He's not going to be a pushover like he used to be so it's time I take charge of the battle._

Threads of static shot out from the hound's fingers with smaller versions of the Dark Repulsion attached to the ends of each one. Apparently, Damien had taken some time to create variants for his signature technique which surprised the hedgehog for the most part. His persona wouldn't allow him to be intimidated by any new form of attack, all he had to do was find its weakness and exploit it.

"Like my new Dark Repulsion Streams? I made up so many variants for my original Dark Repulsion, this one being slightly weaker but more effective than the original. I'm going to pull out some other variants when I face my brother after I defeat you." Damien said cockily.

"Still as arrogant as ever but no matter. I'll make this quick and get rid of those streamers of yours. You won't be able to show your brother what you've learned because I'm going to take you to G.U.N as promised." Mario replied with a smirk.

The chatting was useless against the determined hound who dashed over with his newly released Dark Repulsion Streams, the threads acting out through the mind of their master as Mario back flipped out of their radius and landed safely on a tree. Damien fired off his attack towards the tree as Mario flew away safely and landed upon a rock, one of the Dark Repulsions finally exploding.

_It seems since his hands are preoccupied, he isn't able to launch another attack until the threads have been done away with. It also seems that the Dark Repulsions attached to them won't go away either until he detonates them which could take forever. He wants to keep me out of range so that I don't get a clear shot at him._

The threads began to spiral around like snakes, curving through the trees as Mario fired away at each with his firearms. Sadly, his bullets did nothing to the spheres of energy, the golden hound's attack truly a marvel to behold. He leaped away though it was impossible to dodge in mid-air thus Damien went in for the kill. He shot off a trio of streamers and attempted to bind Mario together, ready to detonate them right after except the hedgehog used his kunai to repel the snakes of energy. Regardless, they slithered towards him until they had him captured, exploding in passionate fireworks and thick clouds of smoke.

"If my streams got him, maybe he's finished but it's doubtful that they did. He does have powers over time manipulation and he only uses them when in real danger. My Dark Repulsion Streams are a real danger so I have to be prepared for anything." the hero stated to himself.

"Good deduction my dear friend and opponent, I was able to escape your threads which leaves you to six. Four remain on your right hand and two remain on your left." Mario analyzed.

_He's hesitant to use the threads on his right hand because it's obvious his right side is more in need of protection than his left. But why?_

Mario shook his head and asked for the battle to continue, the dog eager to oblige by allowing four of his remaining streamers to attack. This left one streamer left in each hand for his protection which was even enough for him. With elegance like a model, the hedgehog twirled through the incoming bombs of energy before throwing explosive kunai to counter. Damien jumped away before lashing out his last two streamers at his foe.

"Aren't you getting tired of dodging because it's not fun you know?" the dog asked.

"You're not the one who facing someone with deadly streamers attached with bombs." the anti-hero simply answered.

"If you say so. Just tell me when you give up." the hero replied.

The amber agent rolled his eyes and flipped away from the ribbons of destruction, landing on his feet though he was aware of where each one was. Two of them tried to catch him off guard from below as they shot up from beneath, the hedgehog leaning back to barely dodge. The tiniest of staggers allowed Damien to end it.

"Got you man! Bye-Bye bad guy!" the dog cheered.

Two streamers came from the left and right each, detonating at close range while the remaining two flew downwards to end off a beautiful attack. The command of his Dark Repulsion Streams was amazing for the first real time using them, he had to try that against Darius when they battled later on.

"Nice try but you'll have to do better than that when you're facing a time manipulator. I was easily able to pause them just before they hit and now I'm going to counter." the voice of Mario rang out from in front of the dog.

Like a ghost, Mario appeared from out of thin air and attempted to punch the dog straightforward but Damien did a split to dodge which sent the chronological master landing a few feet away. It wasn't any surprise that Mario would do that, his attacks were just too slow for the soldier. It was obvious why he was one of G.U.N's top agents along with Phoenix.

"Well I expected that much from you but it was just so fun thinking that you were down for the count. But after all, you are the one who told me that a fight isn't over until the other guy's down on the ground." Damien said with a smirk.

"I did, didn't I? I'm impressed by how much you've grown and I'm glad we got to fight but I think today, we'll call it a draw." the agent said, turning his back.

"Why? I thought you were going to knock me out and take me to G.U.N yourself." the dog asked.

"I was but you're a challenge, more than everyone in G.U.N made you to be. Maybe it was just your training that got you prepared to face me or you've actually been hiding out on me. Nevertheless, there's someone you want to face right? Darius by any chance?" the hedgehog said with a soft chuckle.

"Yup, you're right. Thanks for giving me the chance to actually end this thing with him." the hero thanked his comrade.

"You're welcome. Although I'm doing you a favor, there's one last thing I have to say. If you beat Darius, then congratulations. If you don't, then I'm sorry to hear that. Whatever the result is, it doesn't matter to me because in the end, I'm still going to complete my mission." the anti-hero explained, glancing over his shoulder.

Damien tapped his finger on his chin and smirked, nodding his head and giving a thumbs up.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

With that, Damien dashed off into the forest, leaving Mario to think about what would come in the future.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: The battle between Damien and Mario wasn't all that it was hyped up to be but I'll fix that with the Carnage/Lia battle next chapter. After that, three part finale battle that will be even more amazing than both these fights combined. I hope you liked the chapter nonetheless. You know what you gotta do. Review! Thanks! Bye.**

**P.S: I'll be editing my old chapters to make them look longer so check it out if you want. It doesn't matter. **


	19. Clawing At The Heart

Chapter Nineteen: Clawing At The Heart

As the confrontation between the best of friends began, the indigo raven glanced back to see numerous G.U.N agents on his tail. The elder bird shook his head in disappointment, firing off a silver wave of energy that forced his enemies back. From the shadows, two Blackheart scorpions leaped from the trees, attempting to capture the martial arts master. However it turned into a bad situation for them as the godfather jumped towards them, hitting them in precise areas. Like a ton of bricks, the minions feel to the ground paralyzed.

"Come on, where is Lia?" the raven asked himself, increasing his rate of speed.

Sadly, a barricade of Blackheart and G.U.N soldiers blocked his way and right behind them, Lia was outnumbered against the beige coyote and a few of his soldiers. There was an easier way that would avoid the conflict all together however Donatello had to take care of these enemies now. Summoning a staff from within his cloak, he jumped into the air and slammed the end of it into the ground. The result was snowflake energy erupting from underneath the villains and sending them into the trees.

"That was easier done than said." the raven chuckled softly before walking over to Lia's area.

The area consisted of a serene pond right by a soft and serene waterfall, a good number of boulders and plant life surrounding the water source. A few giant lily pads wadded through the water, supporting the characters from falling into the water. The ebony jackal flipped back as one of the scorpions tried to dive into her before backhanding another that tried to attack from behind.

"Damn it! Can't you foolish beasts do anything right?" the coyote roared as he watched the battle away from the pond.

"It's not my fault that you hired bad help, now is it Carnage?" the Redclaw leader smiled before kicking one of his soldiers into a tree forcefully.

"Don't get cocky now dear jackal. Arrogance will be your downfall as it will be for your vermillion friend." Carnage sneered, an explosion from the distance helping to prove his claim.

"Oh no, Damien can take care of himself with his powers but I would be more worried about your minions." Donatello stated, sending up ivory columns of energy to hit each of Carnage's scorpion friends into unconsciousness.

The chestnut colored canine's forest green eyes glanced at each of his agents of death, their bodies limp as he was the only one remaining to fight off against both Lia and Donatello. Although this proved the odds were stacked against him, he did nothing but laugh at the moment. The duo of heroes were slightly confused at the actions of the coyote.

"You two really did a number on my army but I'm more stronger than any of them so how will you both fare against me?"

"Well it's two against one so I can pretty much say that you're in for a world of pain." the jackal roared in confidence.

A hand rested on her shoulder as she glanced back at her ally, a serious look on his face.

"I'm sorry but just as Damien's battles with Mario and Darius are to be on his own, so must this one. You two are eternal rivals and now you must defeat him. Besides, I'm not really cut out for this hero stuff. When this battle is done, meet me by the cliff outside of the forest and give the message to Damien as well." Donatello explained.

Lia slightly frowned before nodding in determination, attaching her Tri-Claw gauntlet onto her wrist.

"No problem, I'll make sure to take care of this disgrace to the Areno tribes down quickly." the female assured with a solemn face.

With that, the raven disappeared in a flash, dashing off into the distance leaving the two fighters to settle the score once and for all. The Blackheart Leader withdrew his Desert Sun claymore, remaining at the side of the pond while the Redclaw Leader took a fighting stance on one of the giant lily pads.

"Think fast!" the villain screamed, firing off his dual chain blades from his weapon at the jackal.

Instinctively, the jackal ducked to avoid the deadly blades before grabbing the golden links which was all part of the beast's plan. He retracted the chain back as Lia's forehead collided with the metallic hilt, causing a momentary lapse of dizziness. Carnage grabbed her hand, tying his chain around her wrist and skipping her across the pond like she was a rock. Once again, the hound withdrew his chain back, striking the jackal repeatedly.

Finally, the jackal crushed her foot into the knee of her opponent before landing a clean uppercut onto his chin that sent him reeling back. The beige male leaned against a boulder before putting it in front of him to deflect a high kick from his female rival.

"Oh come on! Fight like a true warrior Carnage!"

"True warriors know when they must try something else, am I not right?"

Activating another feature on his tactile weapon, the claymore ejected its blades into dual axes as Carnage swiped for his opponent. Lia back flipped away from the attack and landed safely upon a lily pad though the boulder that her rival used was coming along with her. She rolled out of the way as the rock displaced the water in the pond in a large wave.

For the first time since the battle started, the male character jumped onto one of the lily pads on the pond, using his new senses of vision to try and spot Lia. He switched to regular vision and spotted Lia, swimming onto another lily pad. Reverting his weapon back to its original form, he fired off the chain feature again to indent his blades into two boulders.

"Prepare to be crushed you weakling!" the coyote screamed, beginning to rotate in place as the boulders became his weapons.

The boulders began to increase in speed quickly thus Lia took a deep breath and dived into the water, swimming towards the other combatant in secrecy. When in range, she jumped out of the pond like a shark though Carnage saw her using his skeletal vision. Up in the air, he brought the boulders towards each other in an attempt to crush the jackal to death.

_I'm guessing he wants to crush me literally!_

It was as if time slowed down as the boulders crushed each other into little chunks and Lia curled into a ball to avoid as much pain as possible. As he descended, the Blackheart Leader twirled around in the air in a whirlwind of blades. One of his blades were able to nick her in the left arm, blood seeping out as he switched to blood vision to track her even if she were to go underwater.

Lia was quick to strike back though as she jumped and landed a double kick to the face before kicking him away with a roundhouse. The larger dog fell into the cold water and desperately tried to reach a lily pad in time. Lia wondered why the coyote tried so desperately to reach the lily pad though she didn't have time to. Like a boomerang, the Desert Sun sliced through the air like a pair of scissors through paper.

"Holy shit!"

She leaned back fast enough to avoid the bladed boomerang though it wasn't the girl that Carnage aimed at. From behind, a tree began to collapse though the jackal barrel rolled out of the way before splashing water into the eyes of Carnage.

"Did you forget from our last battle? Irritation doesn't work on my eyes so stop with the little tricks and actually do something spectacular." the coyote said angrily, slicing through the water to hit Lia.

"I'm not going to hold back then you low life." the jackal fired back.

She leaped from lily pad to lily pad to reach Carnage who used his chain feature to grab and hurl an entire pad at his opponent who grabbed onto the bottom with her Tri-Claw. She ripped her Tri-Claw out and pounced on the male who was left vulnerable as they fell into the water. With no lily pad near him, the khaki colored character leaped out of the water and onto the rocky cliff near the water fall. He used his dual axe feature to begin scaling the wall.

"Not on my watch."

Lia began to scale the wall on the other side of the waterfall to make sure she got there before Carnage, the two leaders fighting against each other well. The coyote hurled one of his axes at the jackal to slow her down though she dodged and continued to keep up the pace. They both reached the top of the cliff and charged towards each other in a clash of metal sparks.

"Just give up already Lia! I've defeated your tribe, taken your land and now I'm the true ruler of the deserts. There's nothing you can do about it. You just don't understand why I've done this!" the male exclaimed in anger and determination, his forest eyes quivering at the sight of amber ones.

"Never! I won't give up because my tribe would never give up on me. I intend to regain my land, tribe and pride back from you damn Blackhearts. I don't care why you do it so just go down!" the female answered back, pushing the coyote away.

With a battle cry, she pounced onto the chest of the hound as they skyrocketed towards the pond, their crash creating more waves of displacement. They both rose from the depths of the water, Lia's remaining in the water while Carnage pulled himself out. Extending the chains from his claymore, he swung downwards as the weapon created a whirlpool to form underneath it.

"My Desert Sun claymore is the ultimate weapon, so many uses for it and so many different variations that it's hard to remember them all." the Blackheart cackled.

The Redclaw attempted to get away from the typhoon however its current was too strong to swim away from and she was swallowed within the water. It was like she was in a washing machine, she was unaware where she would be lashed out to. So surprise was on her side right now, the jackal identifying where she was as soon as she escaped the trap. She swam near the lily pad Carnage stood upon and hit the edge as if it were a see-saw.

The water near the waterfall was thankfully less deep than the water in the pond so Carnage had less to worry about. Although it wasn't as deep, it actually became colder here than where he once was. His body began to tremble and he had to escape the water quickly before it was too late for him.

_Damn it! If she's able to find out my weakness, then it might be over for me. She has the complete advantage over me in this area but an advantage does not guarantee her victory._

Firing off one of his blades near a tree on the mainland, the leader pulled himself towards it to escape the freezing conditions he had once been in. Unfortunately, Lia took one of his earlier tactics and sliced the tree down enough for it to fall. Carnage and Lia landed right back near the waterfall, charging once again on top of the wooden foundation. The beastly male swung his claymore where Lia rolled under his attack and kicked him lightly in the back.

The coyote began to get annoyed and summoned his chains to extend the range of his blades, twirling his claymore between his fingers. He brought the weapon upwards as it ripped tree bark into the air as Lia back stepped to avoid the attack. She grabbed and jerked the chain towards her, crushing her fist into the jaw of her opponent as he staggered back.

"Damn, you just love attacking my jaw!" Carnage growled, retracting his blades back into his claymore.

"Yeah, it's fun to see you stop blabbering your damn mouth!"

This didn't help her situation anymore as the male tried to backhand her though the female jumped out of the way. Alas, her aerial position didn't allow her to dodge the blade that flew towards her as it seemed to embed into her chest.

"And that's all she wrote."

Luckily for the girl, it was her right arm that had been stabbed into though now her best arm was injured. The chestnut brown character pulled the ebony one back and didn't anticipate the slice that she would give onto his chest. Three vertical marks leaked wine from his chest as Lia ripped her arm out. She used her left arm to flip Carnage over before punching him into the water. Like a ghost, she dived into the water and disappeared.

"Damn she is getting on my nerves and she must die now!"

Shaking his head to clear out all the cobwebs, Carnage changed to blood vision to see if he could spot her blood from underwater. A few feet away, a puddle of blood was right in front of him as he jumped over for the kill. Sadly, he reverted to regular vision to spot no one and it was then that it came to him. It was his own blood and so much exposure to coldness began to slow down his body functions.

"And that's why you don't like staying in cold areas. Your body becomes immobile easily when exposed to cold temperatures. Good because mines doesn't." the jackal said, walking over to him from behind.

She lifted him up easily and began to barrage him with fist after fist, forcing him to drop his claymore to the water. With that, she grabbed the claymore and charged towards the waterfall, slamming the Blackheart Leader's body into the rocky cliff. This exposed him to more cold water than ever before as it rained down on him.

"Time to end this battle it seems."

With a few more punches, she stabbed her Tri-Claw into his chest before stabbing his own Desert Sun claymore into his wrist as he hissed rather loudly. Lia took back her weapon and fell down to the floor as the victor though Carnage wasn't satisfied.

"You won. Congratulations. Now it's up to you to finish the job. As the victor, you've earned the right to kill me." the coyote stated slowly, his blood mixing with the waterfall's purity.

Lia looked at him before shaking her head in disappointment.

"I'm not going to do that because I'm not like you. I'm honorable to the ways of fighting and killing you would just prove that I'm a monster such as yourself. Your minions will pick you up but don't you ever try to take my land or tribe or pride again." the jackal explained before falling into the arms of Damien, the golden dog looking at the fallen hounds.

"That makes two out of three. Only one remains. Darius, be prepared for the battle of a lifetime." the hound stated to no one as he carried Lia off into the forest.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: And now comes the defeat of Carnage the Coyote to Lia the Jackal. She sure did get a lucky break with the water being there though. **

**Anyway, this is what we've all been waiting for. The finale of Shades of Night, the three part battle between Damien and Darius. Be prepared to learn what Darius and Damien have learned since their last battle. What will the Moonlight Form be like? What is the true history between these brothers? And most importantly, who will win this final battle?**

**Glad to have gotten this out the way so leave your comments and theories and questions. Review! Thanks! Bye.**

**P.S: I do reccommend people to read stories by my great friend and reviewer Blue Kaous. I would not do this if he wasn't an amazing writer. Check his stories out please. :)**


	20. When Two Are One Part One

Chapter Twenty: When Two Are One Part One

Onyx eyes gazed off into the distance, the goldenrod hero carrying his weak comrade, taking careful precautions as to not hurt her anymore than she already was. Damien was able to have battled to a stalemate against Mario while Lia defeated Carnage. However, there was one final battle remaining and Damien knew that this was the most important one yet. Donatello looked behind him and dashed towards the canine duo, allowing the Angel to ease the Redclaw Leader into his arms.

"I take it that you were both successful in defeating your opponents." the raven stated.

"Thankfully that's the case. Carnage has been defeated and Mario let me go free. I wasted as little energy as I could against him but he's a formidable opponent." the hound explained.

"Of course he is, I was the one who trained him to be one of the elite fighters but he must've have held back on you. You would be severely injured but gladly, that isn't the situation right now."

Damien nodded before looking at the horizon, his brother's power could be sensed in the canyons down below. The vermillion male glanced back to see Lia rise to her feet on her own, the jackal shaking the pain off.

"So are you ready to team up and fight your brother?" the female said with determination, stretching her arms in preparation for the upcoming battle against Darius.

The hero looked at his comrade, looking back at all the obstacles they faced to get to this point ranging from Carnage's invasion of the Redclaw village to their encounter with Phoenix in the rainforest to their adventures within the city. They had stuck with one another so much but this was something Damien had to do alone. There were answers Damien had to learn from his brother and things he had to say to him as well.

"I'm ready to face Darius but I'm going to do this by myself. We have a score to finally settle. It's time for me to return the favor for all that happened in the last eight years of my life." the younger Angels sibling spoke.

Donatello nodded to his godson and they respectfully bowed down to one another as teacher and student. The raven took two steps back and smiled at his pupil. Lia walked over and playfully punched the hound's shoulder as they looked at each other, crimson hitting their faces. The dog walked over and embraced his dear friend for a brief moment, releasing her as amber met ebony.

"You better not lose to him or I'll kill you!" the jackal exclaimed, the male getting the message of confidence.

"Don't worry, I won't. I've trained too hard to lose at this point." the dog whispered before turning his back and dashing off towards his destiny.

Damien sighed as he slid down the pathway, a solemn expression on his face. As much as he would have loved Lia and Donatello to back him in this battle, it just didn't feel right for them to interfere.

_Hopefully I can end this battle quickly so I don't get taken advantage of by G.U.N, their men are still probably out here just in case Darius loses. _

His onyx pools gazed forward, trees obstructing his vision from the outside. Though it was true that he lived for the moment, the vermillion dog was planning for the future in his head. Could he describe what mixed emotions he had in the depths of his heart? No, it was that mind boggling. His feet just carried on as if they had a mind of their own.

Even if he didn't kill his brother, it would be just as sweet to see his pain stricken face covered in his wine colored blood. Damien sighed, maybe he and Nightshade were truly compatible when it came to their hatred for the elder sibling. But who knew one better than the other? The canine's claws flashed from fuchsia to a devilish ebony combined with a deep violet, a clearing visible in the distance.

This was where the dog had to not turn back and give up. The game of cat and mouse was coming to a close. Damien escaped the forest to be greeted by a vivid lime colored plain and a few meters away was his onyx counterpart, sighing nonchalantly.

"Darius, this little game of cat and mouse is over. Time for the mouse to die."

Darius just sighed and muttered:

"Yes the mouse shall die," Darius unsheathed his ebony and ivory blades, "but the mouse isn't supposed to chase the cat brother."

"Your humor is stale but ah well, you were never much of a comedian anyway."

A ball of violet flames sparked within the hand of the dog, aimed straight at the older Angels sibling. Damien threw the projectile and Darius gracefully back flipped from its range, descending deeper into the canyon below. In hot pursuit, the golden dog dashed and leaped after him, landing on the rocky and uneven landscape.

The canyon was covered with deep blue crystals that shined under the moon's light, stalagmites and stalactites lining some of the caverns that could be found at the sides. Numerous sources of sparkling fresh water were spread along the floor with some gushing geysers to add to the natural theme of this majestic place.

"Where exactly are we?" the dog mumbled to himself.

"Welcome to Crescent Canyon my dear feeble brother. A magnificent place to truly test each other's skills. You see, this place is able to amplify the control of gravity using the moon and the crystals that line this place. These crystals can also change the shape of liquid like objects such as water and as you can see, this area is filled with many sources of sparkling water." Darius explained, jumping down a few feet in front of Damien.

"So this is your idea for a battlefield? Fine by me! Let's just end this once and for all." Damien exclaimed to his family member.

"For once, we can both actually agree on something."

The golden haired dog attempted to flare his arm in flames however he could only get sparks of black and purple, the miniscule fireworks not impressing his brother. Quickly, he took to the offensive by powering his dual broadswords with positive and negative energy. Darius swiftly dashed towards Damien, thrusting his sword forward which Damien easily flipped over. Upon landing, his leg shot out and tried to kick his brother in his jaw, Sekkyoku blocking the powerful foot.

"Nice try but hand to hand just isn't going to work while I have extensions of my entire body. Swords provide an ample offensive and defensive strategy, all swordsmen know that." Darius explained.

Combining the powers of Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku, he pushed the hero away, Damien colliding with a stalagmite. Darius sailed through the air and sliced downwards, his opponent rolling out of the way before charging up violet gales of wind. Unable to dodge, the gray hound was blown away by the powerful hurricane of lavender. The Angel attempted to give chase however, he was forced down to the ground by some unknown force along with his brother.

_This must be what he was referring to when he said that these crystals amplify the powers of gravity. I feel so heavy as I'm being forced down to the ground. _

Suddenly, the duo of canines were propelled into the air, their bodies floating now due to the change of gravity. The gray dog flew over and tried a horizontal slice though Damien countered with a sidestep and push. A halo of small meteors floated around the hero like a halo, descending upon Darius in a shower of combustion. The flaming rocks pounced upon the dog, burning his fur and staining it a charcoal color. Finally, gravity regained its control as the two floated down to the ground, Darius landing in a pool of water.

Using his affinity over electricity, Damien took control of the electrons around his brother and created shackles of static to hold him in place. Darius gritted his teeth, unable to free himself from this trap. He had to admit that Damien had expanded his powers extremely since their last encounter. Like molding clay, a sphere of dark energy began to form in his hand as Damien's Dark Repulsion sprang to life within the palm of his hand.

"I'm not going to use all my energy on you so do me a favor and fall already!"

In a mad dash, Damien zipped towards his defenseless brother and shot his arm out, the strike missing his mark as the water underneath his brother's feet caused him to ascend, the element morphing to form a column. Ebony pools gazed up at his brother and another idea formed in his mind. He plunged his hand into the pillar before sending electrical currents up, the voltage combined with the water resulted into the frying of Darius.

The Devil quickly jumped off before any more damage was done and prepared his broadsword to stab right through the skull of his brother. The Angel's eyes widened though he was able to back step out of the way, going right into a spinning top. Embers ignited around him, turning him into a flaming hurricane which was headed straight for Darius. Stabbing his swords into the ground, the dog released all the energy within his blades into a Posinegi Burst that sent his opponent flying into the air.

Forming another Dark Repulsion in his hand, Damien used his affinity over fire to spark his feet like jets were under his feet. He shot down towards the ground, extending his arm towards his older brother. Sadly, Darius was quick to shield himself as much as he could by putting his swords in the way of the attack. The dome of energy violently ripped at the ground, crushing the earth beneath Darius' feet. The two brothers flew back from each other and shook the fatigue off.

"You're pretty good brother but I still have yet to show you all that I can do." Damien declared.

"I'm glad, I was thinking that this was all you had to offer minus Nightshade." Darius replied with a sadistic grin.

The yin of the two shook his head and rushed towards the yang, coating his left arm in flame and his right arm in static. The other combatant jumped upwards and his brother gave follow, firing off projectiles of fire and electricity. They landed upon an upper level in the canyon underneath an array of stalagmites which Damien was quick to spot. The sunny persona lashed out a wave of embers at the rock formations above, the spikes raining down on the grim persona.

Darius slashed each stalagmite down before they hit him only to be crushed in the ribs by a fist of lightning from his family member. He grabbed the crimson eyed dog, throwing him overboard like a rag doll. Damien lined up at the edge and dived down, his two fists out to crush Darius into the earth. The gray hound slammed into the depths of the canyon, cracks weaving themselves from the epicenter of the crash. When it looked like Damien would end this, a geyser erupted beneath him and shot him the air, allowing his rival to move out of the crater.

_I was so close again this time but he seems to be getting more lucky breaks this time around than me._

"This is getting very tiring don't you think Damien?" Darius questioned.

"I guess it is. What are you going to do about it then?" Damien asked, landing in the crater where his brother once was.

"I'll have to resort to one of my newest techniques and this one will be very good, I assure of you. Time to write the beginning of the end. Posinegi Balance." the crimson eyed villain muttered.

The gray hound extended his ebony and ivory broadswords towards the epicenter of the newly formed crater. Confused and clueless as usual, his feeble brother watched as a clear cerulean dome expanded from the point and elevated towards the sky. Damien dashed over to his brother like a bullet, his ebony claw engulfed in fuchsia embers.

Quickly to block, Darius watched as he staggered and stabbed his swords in the ground. The canine released the positive and negative energies into his Posinegi Burst, Damien cart wheeling as the blast grazed his ankle. Making distance would be key for Darius in this battle, then onyx and white lines appeared from where the two Angels brothers previously clashed. The lines then made their course into Darius' weapons, a small smirk plastered on his face.

"What the hell just happened? Posinegi Balance? Those lines just went from your Posinegi Burst and were drained into your swords." Damien said in a shocked manner.

"Confused are we? You see, my technique takes the chaos energies that we released and adds their power into my broadswords meaning that with every attack we fire that derives itself from chaos energy will just help power up my sword and then I can unleash a finishing blow of massive strength." Darius explained.

Damien just stood there and chuckled. His brother just nonchalantly yawned and gazed over his sibling. Damien extended his right arm over his head and formed an onyx and violet sphere in his hand. The ball began to cackle dark ebony static as it danced around his fingertips and it's light illuminated Damien like a candle.

"Not really because I also got my own tricks Darius and this one will end it without the mess. I win...Dark Repulsion Lightning!" Damien hollered as beams of electricity shot from the sphere, one of them headed towards Darius.

Darius watched as the lightning strike came towards him before dodging at the last second, the shots of electricity arbitrary so it was only luck that one came for the swordsman.

"Learn to control your attack better brother and it might actually be a real threat next time you use it." the blade wielder spoke.

"I'm tired of your damn mouth. Come on and give me the best you got." the half demon cried, watching as the chaos energy he wasted in his Dark Repulsion Lightning add to the strength of Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku.

"Are you sure you want to continue fighting or is there something else you want? Like answers about the past and what happened to our parents?" Darius asked, a smirk running across his face.

Damien stood in place, glaring daggers at his brother before turning his hardened expression to one of curiosity.

"I'm glad you've stopped attacking Damien, I knew you wanted to know information such as this." the villain proclaimed.

"Why don't you stop the damn chit chat and tell me what I want to know. Who the hell is this master you told me about when we first fought? What happened to the brother I once knew? Who killed our parents?" the hand to hand fighter cried, his teeth clenched and grinding against each other.

Darius clapped his hands before speaking:

"It wasn't that hard to ask. I knew you'd be interested to know how I killed mother and father."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: And it seems that Darius has revealed that he was the killer of their parents but why did he do it and how? A great start to this epic battle and they have unleashed some pretty unique techniques so far but it will only get crazier from here. Next chapter gives us a look into Damien and Darius' past and reveals the grueling death of their parents. Review! Thanks! Bye. **


	21. When Two Are One Part Two

Chapter Twenty One: When Two Are One Part Two

"You bastard! How could you kill mom and dad? You freaking sick!" Damien cried, his canines glistening under the moonlight as he exposed them.

Darius put his hands up in innocence, grinning at the younger of the two. The goldenrod hound wanted to rip the swordsman's head off the moment he finished telling the truth.

"I'm so sorry Damien, I just didn't know better at the age of nine. After all, I was only doing it for the best." the gray hound stated, chuckling at his own sick joke.

"So tell me before I kill you. Why did you do it?"

"Ah, always one to get so impatient when angry. If you must know, then let's take a look back at the past. You see, when I was five and you were three, I figured out something that would change my life forever. I was a half-demon with immense power flowing through my body and if I was one, then it was safe to say that you were also."

Damien nodded at the information, laying back on a stalactite while Darius paced back and forth.

"My only goal from then on was to learn to grasp control of my power but mother and father refused to let me unlock the strength deep within me. But you were a different story by far, they embraced you and wanted you to learn to control your powers while they sent me to our dear old godfather to learn swordsmanship. It was there where Donatello gave me Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku."

The ebony and ivory broadswords rose up into the air after that statement, the crimson eyed half-demon swishing his blades around randomly. The contacting wearing half-demon shook his head and motioned for his brother to continue his story.

"At age nine, I did the deed of killing mother and father…well after torturing them anyway. I drugged their drinks and knocked them out at first, rather easy to do when they were drinking wine. I took them downstairs to our basement and then strapped them down to beds so they couldn't move when they woke up."

"Great, we had a torture chamber in our house. Big whoop!" the hero yawned, allowing his brother to press on.

"Well then, I took fishing hooks and inserted them into their skin while placing tanks underneath to collect their blood. I pulled back each hook as it ripped pieces of their skin off and blood dripped into the bucket, the remaining skin was scraped off by me. By that time, they woke to see some pretty disturbing stuff but I quickly knocked our father out before he could stop me from playing my practical joke."

"Practical joke? What the hell did you do to dad Darius!" the golden hound exclaimed, knowing where the dog was going at.

"I castrated him and attached his reproductive organs upon our mother, it was so hysterical and I couldn't contain my fits of laughter. You could actually see me crying tears of joy after that one and did I mention I placed them on mother's forehead?"

The Angel roared, his arm sparking into lavender flames and tears running down his eyes; the hero charged at the villain who jumped away from his attack, his laughs echoing through the canyon.

"Shut the hell up!"

"But there's more to the story, let me finish!" the cackling canine demanded from above. "Anyway, I tortured them by pulling their limbs like they do in old Transylvania movies. I also marked them with those things you use on cows and you burn it and press it into their flesh! Then I whipped them and smacked them around and stabbed them in non lethal areas with Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku. Oh damn, almost forgot about the laxatives I made them drink."

"Soon, it was time to finish them. I sewed fragments of their skin back together and bought some rope. I hid their bodies in plastic bags and took them a secret pond in Westopolis Park before hanging them one the trees which obviously led to instantaneous death but I wrapped the skin around like a fur coat and dripped their blood on their bodies for a fresh aroma. I made my getaway, taking the precautions needed to not get caught and what not. The police never suspected a thing."

Damien jumped upwards and crushed his fist into the area where Darius once stood, the gray hound floating in the air due to the change of gravity. Tears floated in the air and they flew away from the vermillion dog's eyes, the dog wanting to forget all that he heard.

"I'm going to kill you for killing our parents you damn sick bastard! They loved you and wanted what was best for us and you kill them for selfish reasons. Just because they wouldn't allow you to learn to control your powers, that's stupid!" the dog cried, Darius shook his head at the ignorance of his feeble family member.

"No, I did it for us. This voice in my head, my master, told me that that was what had to be done for us to unlock our true potential. Our parents held us back, don't you see that Damien?"

The hero shook his head defiantly, the duo slamming to the ground from the shift in gravity. Ebony pools gazed at crimson ones, a stalemate of intimidation versus determination.

"He said that with harsh conditions, you would embrace your power first and I would then embrace mine later on. Then we would fulfill our true destiny! Honestly, we were destined for greatness!" the villain roared in joy though Damien looked back at the torture Darius put him through, this wasn't what he thought destiny had planned for him.

* * *

_Flashback_

_The canine duo of Damien and Darius sat down in the lonely living room where there was nothing but a lamp, a chair and the four walls that caved them in the room. The gray hound grabbed the golden one by his hair and back slapped him away with ease. Blood and tears stained the floor as the Angel desperately tried to escape this hell hole._

"_Get the hell back here you weakling. You need suffering to make your body stronger. Your powers will be unlocked, I tell you this without a doubt in my mind." Darius cried._

"_No way, get the fuck away from me Darius! God will save us both but you turn to someone in your fucking head for help! That's the best move either of us has made since we were born." the last line dripping with sarcasm._

_This did not please the hound one bit as he walked out of the room, returning with a belt that he wrapped around the neck of the dog. With great force, he pulled his younger brother back and whispered in his ear._

"_Don't you fucking play with me, I can end your life at any time but you're even lucky I spare your ass. My voice needs you to unlock your powers or destiny can't be fulfilled. Then we unlock our powers, we will need to find the two final pieces to the puzzle and then our plan will be unleashed." the crimson eyed hound said._

"_I have no freaking idea what you're talking about but I want no part in it." the contact wearing one replied, elbowing his brother in the chest before trying to make his getaway._

_Sadly, he wasn't fast enough as the gray hound grasped his younger brother by the ankle and dragged him back slowly just to tease him. Damien tried to pull away though the grip was like an anaconda, there was just no way of him getting out._

"_Ah, you were so close too! I'm sorry that you weren't fast enough dear brother." Darius laughed._

_He grabbed the back of the Angel's head and slammed it against the hard mahogany colored floor, grinding it into the wood before picking him up. A hand upon his neck, the Devil threw the dog into the staircase before kicking his back. The duo looked at each other and Damien ran up the stairs with Darius in pursuit. Damien rounded the corner and tripped as Darius balled his hand into a fist and clubbed his family member's head._

"_Teach you to mess with me. Get in that room of yours! I'll be back with some meager scraps you can eat for dinner while I have that nice turkey for myself." the dog said, throwing Damien into an empty room and slamming it shut._

_The dog rose to his feet and looked at the barred window in front of him. He balled his hand into a fist, salty water pouring from his eyes before throwing a punch. Shockingly, he broke the steel effortlessly, looking at his fist and then the window._

_He wouldn't be staying here much longer. _

_The golden male hopped out of the window and saw the black and grey Extreme Gear that his brother kept. He grabbed it and jumped on, boosting it away as Darius ran outside to see his brother escaping. He smacked his fist into his hand, anger evident in his face. Damien wasn't coming back…_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"I loved you Darius and you were such a great brother to me before you went and killed our parents. The voice in your head is fucking with your mind and yet you don't want it to let go. He's not your master damn it! You're a psychopath who needs help because you're far from sane." Damien cried, getting on his knees and pointing an accusing finger at the mixed hound.

"And so what if I'm a psychopath? I'm as sane as can be but you want to kill me which just can't happen. Destiny is upon us so let it take over and do what is right for both of us. If not, I'm going to have to drag your near dead carcass " Darius replied.

The golden hound shook his head as ebony and violet began to wrap around his body, the gray one aware of what was going to happen. The half-demon fell to the floor with a thud, completely changed.

He had become a black wolf with purple replacing his dirty blonde fur. His hair was still messy but with neon purple highlights. His claws had increased in size, a purple hue to them. Damien's fangs had become whiter and more sharp than a knife. The tattoo on his back has suddenly become white and his eyes were a dark violet. A new touch this time around was the crescent moon mark on his upper arms.

"Ah so it seems you've learned how to switch in and out of Nightshade on will but can you fully control him?" the older male asked.

"I guess we'll have to see that now won't we?" Nightshade laughed, the humor coming from Nightshade signaling that Damien had some control but was it enough?

"Too bad because I have my own little friend I want you to meet. Say hello to the new Moonlight form."

Darius took a deep breath and exhaled and out of the blue, his arrows glowed with a powerful white aura as his grey fur began to shrouded with black. Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku gained a white and black stripe down the middle respectively and the final touches were added. His fangs were much whiter and sharper like Nightshade and the dog lost his crimson pupils, his eyes just nothingness now.

"Aw damn, this isn't looking too good."

"You guessed right."

Nightshade charged over at the newly transformed Darius, swiping his arm downwards in a missed attempt. Darius swiftly countered with precise strikes from his dual broadswords before unleashing a Posinegi Combo that sent the wolf into the canyon's wall. The purple and black hound shook the hit off before firing off venomous snakes of fire, the black and white hound slicing the wave of embers into ashes before slamming his swords into the ground, a grey shockwave rushing towards the demon who rolled out of the way.

The hero began to charge up two Dark Repulsions in his palms with no effort at all before merging the two together into a pill like shape, the new shape engulfing his hands as it rippled and flared. He dashed towards Darius who readied himself and swung at the wolf, hitting his mark only to find that it wasn't the real Nightshade. His eyes widened at his mistake which he would dearly pay for now.

"Just die already!" The dog exclaimed.

He slammed the new Dark Repulsion into the ground near Darius as a vortex of onyx and lilac awoke due to the explosion caused by the orb. It began to spiral faster and faster with each passing second as it burned and sliced Darius from every possible angle. Suddenly, Nightshade jumped through the hurricane trap, a Dark Repulsion in hand and smashed into the gut of his opponent.

"Dark Repulsion Vortex!"

The vortex expanded into a deadly explosion that echoed through the depths of the canyon in a burst of energy that ripped and scorched the black and white canine to no end. Finally, the attack dissolved into nothing as a weak normal Darius was panting on his knees from the absolute power of the maneuver.

"It's over Darius, you've lost this battle and destiny has taken a new road. I'm free to live my life but you'll be sent to Hell for all the things you did to me. A punishment best suit for you." Nightshade growled.

The gray and black hound chuckled at his brother before picking up his blades, blood leaking down from his forehead and burn marks were all over his chest and arms. Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku pulsated with positive and negative energy as their wielder shook his head in defiance.

"No, it's not over Damien or Nightshade because you may have defeated my Moonlight form but I can release it again and end this battle. I'm still strong enough to defeat you and I have the exact attack to finish the job too." the dog murmured at his brother.

"Then that gives me good reason to finally end your life. Time to die." the wolf roared, a Nightshade Claw ready to strike down and end his brother's life.

Unfortunately, Darius leaped out of the way and countered with some major strikes upon the body of Nightshade, the black and violet hound seeping blood from his arms and legs as Darius leaped into the air with his blades. His swords were charged with massive powers from his Posinegi Balance which was still in effect from earlier in the battle. Nightshade attempted to move though he couldn't, his joints were where Darius did the damage so he was a sitting duck.

"I'm sorry it has to end with this move but you asked for it." Darius crossed his swords together, two comets of black and white forming in front of him.

"Posinegi Crisis."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: And it seems that Darius has pulled out his trump card, the Posinegi Crisis. What power is held behind this attack and can Nightshade survive? I'm so sorry if you found this chapter a bit too much due to Darius' explanation but it was just to show how crazy he is though that's not even the worst of his twisted mind.**

**Anyway, next chapter is the final chapter of this story and I'm glad to all who have stuck by me. So review! Thanks! Bye.**


	22. When Two Are One Part Three

Chapter Twenty Two: When Two Are One Part Three

"Posinegi Crisis."

The ebony and ivory comets shot downwards, spinning around each other as they weaved through the canyon effortlessly. Nightshade struggled to move but to no avail, his legs and arms were just not on the same page as his mind was. In a burst of energy, the comets demolished the wolf with no recognition of life though the black and violet male stood strong, finally able to move his joints. Sadly, the attack wasn't over for him yet.

"Where the hell is he?"

Darius dropped from the skies and sliced the hero right down his chest as the explosion split into a massive spinning helix of black and white. Lifeless violet eyes gazed at the gray dog before falling down to the floor in a bloody heap. Crimson eyes gazed at the dog, shaking his head slowly before sheathing Shoukyoku.

"Get up, you're stronger than this. If not, then I was sadly mistaken. I survived your Dark Repulsion Vortex but you lose all your fire and drive from that move? Pathetic."

"You always knew how to motivate me and I'm glad you had that gift. Not even, I'm glad you used that gift now of all times," the golden hound whispered, rising to his feet and back to his normal form. " I have to admit that was one killer attack but Nightshade's power gave me the strength to survive luckily. But the time for talk is over."

"I agree. Let's end this once and for all and prove who's truly the stronger brother." the gray hound stated.

"It'll be my pleasure."

From the tips of his fingers, the Angel materialized streamers of static with miniscule Dark Repulsions attached to the ends which met that his brother had ten projectiles to dodge. The Dark Repulsion Streams twisted and slithered away from their controller as if he were a snake charmer. Suddenly, the ten all pounced upon Darius who flipped away from them.

The older Angels sibling withdrew his ebony broadsword to aid him in battle, leaping forward and evading the threads. With the attention of the streamers upon Darius, Damien was left wide open for an attack. The Devil barrel rolled between two streamers before elegantly flipping over an array that shot upwards to strike. Nothing was between the two brothers and thus, the gray hound thrust his sword forward, eliminating his brother's energy copy.

Scarlet eyes gazed behind him to see all ten Dark Repulsion Streams, four of them wrapping around his legs and arms, which left six to strike any of parts of his body. Another foolish mistake on the part of Darius, the streamers zipped forward and exploded in passionate fireworks of light purple and dark ebony. The goldenrod canine charged another Dark Repulsion in his left hand and awaited to see if his brother would rise and continue battling.

"Are we done so soon or do we got some more fight in us?" the hero asked, adjusting his sunglasses and waiting for an answer.

"Don't allow your arrogance to cloud your vision. I'm very much in tact." the villain said, wiping his mouth of his blood and walking out of the smoke.

The brothers looked at one another before dashing at each other, Damien extending his arm forward to strike Darius who shimmied out of the way, countering with a kick to the back as they exchanged places. Flames began to crawl up on the arm of the hero and they merged with the sphere already in his hand, creating a new attack. With no other target in mind, the dog hurled his Dark Repulsion at the biggest target of all.

Darius leaped towards the giant cyan sphere, his Posinegi Balance, and tried to block the attack though it was too late. The meteor like attack cracked the sphere and they began to branch off from there, the advantage of Darius' crumbling to the ground like his chances of winning this battle would. The vermillion dog rushed over and threw a fist only for the silver dog to dodge and counter. Shoukyoku and Sekkyoku unleashed an onslaught of slashes upon the hero before Darius kicked him away.

Quick to recover, Damien transitioned into a spinning top of flames while Darius challenged him, extending his arms out and spinning like his brother did. Claws and blades clashed against one another, vying for control of the battle. In a instant, the golden dog separated himself from the flames and spread them in a circle that shot away from the center. This quickly tripped his brother up and the dog would be quick to take the advantage. He charged up another Dark Repulsion Lightning, the orb sparking and fizzling in his palm.

"I'm going to make sure I hit the mark this time around." Damien stated.

"You're sadly mistaken because the last time you tried, they were just arbitrary shots." Darius murmured, rising to his feet.

Shaking his head, the dog threw his sphere into the sky and watched the sphere separate in particles, the sky cackling with dark energy. Literally in a flash and spark, a concentrated beam of electricity ripped through the heavens and struck Darius, the attack almost burning him like a crisp though he managed to get out of the range of this variant. Damien nodded slowly and looked at how much damage he was able to do. It was safe to say that if he kept attacks like that up, he would surely become a force to reckon with. Darius shook the blow off, momentarily switching to his Moonlight form to avoid the brute force of the attack.

The golden character leaped through the air and tried to kick the dog in the face only to be sidestepped and countered. Darius struck with Shoukyoku and then Sekkyoku, finishing his Posinegi Combo with both blades as Damien rolled out of the attack in a confused mess.

_Shit, that wasn't pretty but I'm guessing that we're reaching the final stretch here. There's not much else we can do from the point. Time to bring back an old friend._

The dog recovered and dashed away from his brother who gave chase, the platinum hound quickly gaining on the weaker brother. He grabbed a stalactite and swung around it, kicking his brother in the face and kicking him up into the sky.

"Time to bring back an old favorite. Angelic Combo!"

He leaped into the air after him, overshadowing his brother as he stomped upon his body like walking up a flight of stairs. Clasping his hands together to make a hammer shape, he smashed it down upon his brother who crash landed onto the ground. He extended his foot and flipped while on his descent, slamming the heel of his foot down on what should have been his brother's face. Unfortunately, Darius brought his swords up to block the initial finisher and forced his brother away.

The dog gracefully landed and tried to summon some voltage in his hands only to get nothing, it seemed that his powers had lost a bit of battery. His opponent was quick to notice and dashed over, swinging his sword which Damien ducked and grabbed his leg, spinning him around like they were trying to about to break a piñata. His brother got dizzy and it allowed Damien to strike him with a dirty uppercut before backing away. The hero leaped above the villain, grabbing his head and hurling him away.

"Oh damn, even with the lights off, I still kick some serious ass and glow." Damien smirked.

The Devil rose to his feet and jumped up a few times to make sure his legs were in tact. His brother quickly approached, sliding underneath his feet while dropping the gray hound on his face. The Angel attempted to get on top of his brother and barrage him with fists however the older Angels sibling wasn't having that. The blade wielder brought his feet up and flipped the dog overhead. With a thud, Damien landed on his back and arced his body upwards to express the pain of that. He got up and charged forward, kicking up some dirt from the ground, the moonlight being hidden by a fluffy cloud overhead thus the affects of the canyon weren't in play anymore.

Darius stabbed his swords forward though it seemed that Damien had taken fighting classes from Sonic the Hedgehog himself, rolling into a ball and dodging the attack before uncurling, slamming his foot in the torso of his brother. He looked above the battlefield and saw that G.U.N had set up their men upstairs if Damien won the battle, guns pointing directly at him. This slight distraction allowed the other combatant to grasp his weaker and foolish family member by the throat, slowly restricting the flow of air. The dog choked out, trying to free himself from the grasp, fidgeting his body and moving his arms and legs.

"It seems that we've hit the end of the road Damien, time to go night-night." the dog whispered.

"That's what you think!"

The melee fighter kicked his brother in the chest and moved away from him, checking to see if he access his powers now. His feet sparked with electricity as the friction beneath his feet felt non-existent and in his hands were dual Dark Repulsions. It was time to end, madly dashing towards his brother and leaping into the air with hand extended forward. His eyes widened at what would happen next. Darius changed back into Moonlight form in an instant and with precise slices, he eradicated Damien's offense like a paper shredder did to its mortal enemy.

"Game over." Darius whispered, suddenly right in front of his brother.

He stabbed his swords into the dog's stomach though Damien changed into Nightshade to give himself a chance. Two lights illuminated under the hero and he looked down to see that Darius was charging his signature technique. Without further ado, the Posinegi Burst erupted throughout the half demon's body and he fell to the floor, normal, bloody and limp. There was no one in the world that could have survived such a deadly attack as that. That would rip and incinerate organs like nothing but it seemed that the hero was finally dead.

"Go apprehend the criminal men and check to see if he's alive." Mario stated from above as his agents descended into Crescent Canyon with guns and medical wing agents.

Darius quickly grabbed his blades from Damien's battered body and ascended the canyon with leaps, reaching the side where Mario and his men could be found. The two allies shook hands and looked at one another.

"Good job, you really took care of him but you seriously didn't hold anything back with that final move." Mario stated, nodding.

"Well he's a criminal and my brother, I didn't intend to hold back anything even if he's my flesh and blood. If that's all you must say, I'll be on my way." the gray hound said, sheathing his blades and dashing off into the distance with any other word.

The vermillion and black hedgehog walked over to meet his fallen comrade, putting two fingers to his neck to check for a pulse and surprisingly, there was still one. He motioned for his men to operate on his friend and they followed his command, taking Damien into a helicopter and beginning to recover the dog from his brutal battle. Mario hopped into another chopper and sat down, looking at the golden male and closing his eyes.

_This isn't over Damien. If Darius wasn't able to kill you, then G.U.N's top commanders will. It's safe to say that they'll sentence you to…death._

* * *

_The golden dog woke up his conscious once again and looked at his other self, the golden dog sighing and motioning for the real dog to come forward. Damien sat down next to his doppelganger and tried to speak however he was hushed._

"_It was disappointing to see you lose the battle but you almost got yourself killed. Luckily for you, I was able keep your organs in tact with some of your clan's dark magic but I can't say that you'll live. The force of that blast would have killed any normal guy." the replica spoke._

"_I'm sorry." the dog whispered._

_His replica shook his head and smacked the dog in the face, the golden hound putting his hand to his face and rubbing it softly._

"_Don't be sorry. It's my fault for not preparing you enough to use Nightshade and your powers more. Your powers fizzled on you when you really needed them. It seems that G.U.N's trying to bring you back to life."_

"_So what if I live? I'm in G.U.N's custody and Darius escaped from the site most likely."_

_The fake shook his head and shrugged._

_Damien looked down at the ground, curling into a ball and falling to sleep._

_He hoped he would live._

* * *

Inside the G.U.N headquarters, some time after Damien's defeat and capture, Phoenix Wilson the Hawk waited outside the office of the G.U.N Commander himself. She tapped her foot and looked inside to see the commander on the phone, most likely with an important member of the organization.

"So I've heard that you're one of the best bounty hunters in the world. Though I rather not have to resort to people like you, I need someone of skill to handle a job such as this." the commander murmured.

"_It's no problem at all mister. I have an upstanding sense of justice though I just prefer to work separate from the police and military. After all, my father was killed while on the unorganized and shitty thing you call the police._" the speaker on the phone exclaimed.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that. So can I trust you with this mission?"

"_Of course, I aim to please. Just give me the target's name and I'll make sure he or she's taken down._"

The Commander chuckled slightly to ease the mood of the conversation.

"His name is Darius Angels. He worked with us on Project: Angel, a mission to terminate Damien Angels. You may have heard of him." the man stated.

"_Don't worry, I've heard of him once or twice. I'll do my research and then give you an update within a few months. With what he apparently did to his brother, he's probably gone into hiding for a while. When I finish the job though, I'm making sure you don't back stab me like you're about to do to him." _the speaker, a female, replied.

"Good then. I expect you to keep in touch. Salutation, Scarlet Ebony."

With that, the phone was placed down and the human motioned for the hawk to walk inside his office, Phoenix quickly walking in and taking a seat. She brushed her hair back and tapped her hands on her lap.

"I heard we took down Damien Angels! I'm glad we were able to accomplish our mission sir!" the hawk said with a half smile.

"So am I but I'm not here to talk about such matters. I've been aware of your few failed missions and I simply can't have such mistakes made in my organization." the male replied.

"So I guess you're going to send me back to training camp or office work until I'm trusted again?" the female asked.

The Commander stood up and placed his hands on his desk, his voice becoming a bit croaky.

"Sadly, I must let you go Phoenix. This was such an important mission but you failed me countless times, spent numerous resources like firearms, men, armor and money. That's just simply not acceptable" the agent said.

The hawk slammed her hands on his desk and made a fear stricken face. Unfortunately, her superior's face was serious and apparently, it seemed there was nothing she could do.

"No, I need this job sir! I'm one of your best agents! I can't go back to that damn circus. I'd have nowhere to go and I'll be miserable and die." the hawk exclaimed only to have the man move back.

Phoenix quickly pulled out a handgun on the Commander who pulled out his own, the two agents glaring at each other. Suddenly some soldiers passed by and knocked the door down, quickly bringing the bird of prey down. She began to struggle and cry, trying to free herself as the superior sighed of relief. He motioned for his men to take her away while a new character ran over to stop them.

The new character was a green female hawk with crimson streaks running down her arms in the form of slash like patterns. Her hair was a mixture of green, red and orange which she puts in three individual ponytails. She had two bangs, one of green color and one of orange and red that brush along the sides of her face. Her eyes were a piercing hazel color and she had an hourglass figure for her young age.

As for clothing, she wore a black shirt under a red vest. Her cargo pants were a medium green color as the same for her sneakers. Around her neck is a black bandana with a giant smiley on it. The final touch were the two crossbows attached to her wrists, the left was a green and black color while the right was a mixture of red and orange.

"What the hell is going on? Where are you taking my sister?" the hawk spoke.

"This girl tried to kill me Emerald and as a G.U.N agent, you know that's an offense to our organization so it must be met with swift punishment." the commander screamed.

Emerald looked at her sister, then the commander and back to her sister. Without any more words, she ran out the room, tears dripping down her face and a scowl upon her face while the leader sat down and shook his head in disappointment.

* * *

Carnage walked with his men back to their camp, his Desert Sun claymore helping him stand as they walked through the desert. In the distance, he saw the camp and smiled, he knew his men would be happy to see him. Sadly, scowls and grim faces looked upon as he walked through the village, his face one of confusion.

"What the hell happened while I was gone from my home?" the coyote asked himself.

"Easy, you left us so we decided to nominate a new leader, one that could defeat Lia and lead us to our ultimate victory. After you left, the Redclaws banded together and swiftly defeated us, taking their land back all because you weren't here to lead us. But when we heard you were defeated by Lia, we decided to make a change." a male scorpion in a cloak exclaimed.

"Well I'm sorry but you weren't the one who made the rules around here you weaklings!" the Desert Phoenix roared.

Unfortunately for the canine, it didn't seem that way as his tribe all readied their weapons and the scorpion in the cloak put a crown upon his head. Carnage growled and readied his own weapon and looked at the few men he still had left.

"Taking advantage of me when I have yet to recover my full strength? Very dirty and dishonorable but if that's how you want to do this," the beige monster screamed. " Then let's brawl."

Sadly, the men he thought would fight for him aimed their weapons at him and charged as the coyote howled, his weapon spinning through the air as his newest battle commenced.

* * *

A cloaked figure dashed down into Crescent Canyon and came to a halt. The newest figure walked over and looked at the debris and aftermath of the battle between the two brothers, letting out a sigh. They walked over and examined the dried blood, the footprints and the craters. The person shook their head and looked into the dark night sky.

"Two days late huh?" the figure, a female asked herself.

She began to dash away from the scene.

"Time to pay my old friend Damien a visit."

__

Fin…

* * *

**A/N: And that's the end of the story and we have finally finished the prequel to the entire series with the defeat of Damien by Darius, the betrayal of Carnage's entire tribe, the hire of Scarlet and some more juicy storylines which give us a sense of what to look for in the next two stories.**

**From this point, we will skip a year ahead from this point and start Shades of Night II which will be pretty epic I should say and more characters will be introduced in the series as it moves along. I will get more creative in time and you'll love the little changes I will make, thanks to my teacher Dark Maelstrom. :D**

**Anyway, I'm not going to bore with all the final thoughts talk anymore. Review with all your comments, questions and theories! Thanks for reading! Salutations readers and reviewers.**

_**Signed, DJ-SlashMusika21**_


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